Production of corn and sunf lower fodder, and its preference as silage among ewes in Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo

Objective: To assess the forage production of corn and corn with sunf lower forage, as well as ewes’ preference for this forage as silage.Design/methodology/approach: A completely randomized block design with three replications was used in the field, while a completely randomized design (Tukey 0.05) was preferred for work in laboratory. Sowing was done in spring-summer 2020 under rainfed conditions. The treatments were as follows: 100% corn; 90% corn  10% sunf lower; and 80% corn  20% sunf lower. Forage production was assessed at 126 days of sowing. Once ensiled, forage was assessed again through a bromatological analysis. Silage preference was evaluated for 20 days with 10 pregnant Hampshire  Suffolk ewes with a live weight of 44.8 kg.Results: The combination of 80% corn  20% sunf lower delivered a higher fresh forage yield (P0.001; 28 t ha1), a higher percentage of soluble protein (P0.01), and a higher percentage of lignin (P0.001; 4.6%). The ewes preferred the 100% corn silage, since it contained a lower percentage of non-fiber carbohydrates (22.2%), a lower percentage of acid detergent fiber (35.3%), and a lower percentage of neutral detergent fiber (59.4%).Study Limitations/Implications: Sunf lower should be established in soils with low amounts of broadleaf weed seeds, since chemical control cannot be applied to the said weeds.Findings/Conclusions: A greater amount of forage was produced per surface unit when 80% corn was combined with 20% sunf lower. Ewes preferred the 100% corn silage due to its lower percentage of lignin and a higher in vitro digestibility of neutral detergent fiber.