Short Communication:The performance of beef cows on Digitaria eriantha silage.

Abstract

Digitaria eriantha silage, ensiled when the plants were in the late flowering stage (March), was fed ad lib to mature, non-pregnant, dry Hereford cows from mid-May to mid-September. The average daily gain during a 98-day feeding period was 0.35 kg/cow. The estimated quantity and quality of the daily dry matter intake corroborated the positive mass gains.

Keywords: average daily gain; cows; daily gain; digitaria eriantha; dry matter; feed quality; flowering; intake; kokstad agricultural research station; performance; silage; smuts fingergrass; south africa