What is sugar beet leaf silage?
javid keshtleyzeri Co.ltd
Introduction:
A significant part of livestock raising costs is related to feeding costs. In the meantime, it is necessary to provide fodder with quality and reasonable price for raising livestock. The use of agricultural waste and residues can provide part of the needs of livestock and in addition to reducing production costs, it can also prevent the wastage of national funds. Sugar beet leaves and crowns are part of the agricultural waste resulting from sugar beet cultivation. Every year in the months of October and November, when the sugar beet harvest begins, a large amount of leaves and rings remain in the sugar beet fields. A part of the leaf and crown is used as animal feed and the rest is returned to the soil as green manure. Leaves and crowns make up about 50% of the sugar beet crop. Excessive and long-term use of sugar beet leaves and crowns in fresh or even dried form in livestock feeding will cause nutritional problems for the animal. The cause of these problems is due to the amount of water in this material, the lack of woody materials and the presence of undesirable organic materials in sugar beet leaves. These problems generally include digestive disorders (diarrhea, mineral deficiency), sterility and infertility.
On the other hand, it is almost impossible to maintain sugar beet leaves and crowns by conventional methods. This material quickly spoils and disappears due to the presence of abundant water in the leaves. The best method of storing sugar beet leaves and crowns is silo storage, which has the following advantages:
1- Reduction of harmful substances in sugar beet leaf and crown.
2- Improving the quality and nutritional value of sugar beet leaves and crowns.
3- Increasing the ability to store these materials for a long time, especially in seasons such as winter when access to fresh fodder is limited.
In this article, an attempt has been made to explain the correct method of ensiling sugar beet leaves and rings, how to use and the amount of consumption of this food item in feeding livestock in simple language. I hope it will be of interest and use to you dear ones.
What is the nutritional value of beet leaf silage and beet ring?
Sugar beet leaf silage has 50% more protein than corn silage and only 10% less energy than clover and alfalfa. But its digestible protein is equal to clover and alfalfa. Sugar beet leaf silage can be used in the diet of fattening sheep and cattle. However, the presence of oxalic acid in sugar beet leaf and crown as well as soil contamination limits the use of this substance in dairy cows and pregnant ewes.
How to harvest sugar beet leaves and crowns and what is the quality of the resulting silage?
The method of harvesting leaves and crowns of sugar beet can have a great effect on the quality of fodder and, as a result, its silage. In general, sugar beet leaf and crown harvesting can be done before or at the same time as sugar beet harvesting, mechanized or manual. If the separation of sugar beet leaves and crowns is done before harvesting the roots, the best fodder quality is obtained due to the absence of contamination of the leaves and crowns with soil. But this method is less used for various reasons, such as the need for more labor, the reduction of the volume of leaves and crowns, etc., and mostly the separation of leaves and crowns is done at the same time as the root is harvested. If the harvesting of sugar beet is done mechanized and with a combine harvester and the separation of leaves and crowns is done at the same time as the roots are harvested and during separation, leaves and crowns are collected in a tank, due to the reduction of soil contamination, the fodder obtained will be of better quality. compared to the traditional view. In the traditional method, harvesting sugar beet and separating leaves and crowns from it is done by hand. Fodder contamination with soil, in addition to the negative effect on fodder ensiling, also endangers livestock health, and therefore dear farmers and ranchers should try to minimize the contamination of beet leaves and crowns with soil as much as possible.
What are the different methods of ensiling sugar beet leaves and rings?
1- The method of fodder ensiling in ditch and surface silos:
The method of ensiling fodder in moat and surface silos is that if the sugar beet harvesting area is large and large amounts of leaves and crowns are left in the field, these materials can be stored in underground (moat) or surface (surface) silos. did These types of silos, especially the trench type, exist in many livestock farms, and their usual dimensions include a width of 5-6 meters, a height of 1.5-2.5 meters, and a length of 10-30 meters. Of course, if there is no silo in livestock farming, the above silos can be built with smaller dimensions depending on the need. Considering that about 20-25 tons of green leaves and sugar beet rings are obtained from each hectare of agricultural land, therefore, a space of 20-25 cubic meters is needed to ensile this amount of fodder. For this purpose, a silage with a length of 8 meters, a width of 2 meters and an average depth of 1.5 meters is required. The walls of the silo must be completely free of holes and also in moat silos, a conduit for storing the extract taken out of the silo must be installed in its bottom.
As mentioned, the walls of the silo must be completely without any defects and gaps, and also in the moat silos, the outlet of the extract from the silo must be placed in its bottom. The leaf and crown of sugar beet has high humidity, which increases the flow of leachate from the silo and causes the silo to deteriorate. Therefore, after harvesting the sugar beet, leaves and crowns were left in the fields for 1-5.2 days to reduce the moisture content and make the percentage of dry matter suitable for making silage. After that, it is appropriate to cover the bottom of the silo with a small amount of straw and crush the leaves and crowns of sugar beet and pour it in different layers in the silo, and after each layer, use a roller or tractor to compress the fodder.
In order to improve the quality and nutritional value of the resulting silage, different materials can be used as additives along with beetroot leaves and rings during ensiling. Based on research results, the best promotional formula is to use additives with the following proportions: 25 kg of molasses + 20 liters of water + 2.5 kg of urea + 1.25 kg of dead lime. For each ton of leaves and crowns of sugar beet. To use these materials, you must first add water to molasses and dilute it. Then add lime and urea to the molasses sweetener in the above proportion depending on the amount of fodder that we want to ensilage and stir the resulting mixture well until it is uniform. These materials are poured evenly on the compressed layer while pouring different layers of beet leaves and collars and after each layer is compressed, and another layer of leaves and collars are added to the silo. It should be noted that after pouring the above mixture, compression should not be done; Rather, a new layer of fodder should be added to the previous materials; Because due to the stickiness of molasses, if the car moves on the silo after pouring the molasses sweetener, the material will stick to the tires and prevent the machine from moving.
The use of extensions, in addition to improving the nutritional value, also increases the quality of the silage. For example, the use of urea, in addition to increasing the amount of silage protein, also reduces the risk of silage rotting. Also, molasses is a fast-digesting sugar substance that is consumed by the beneficial bacteria in the silage, and as a result, the fermentation process in the silage is done faster, and this improves the quality of the silage filling. One of the disadvantages of sugar beet is oxalic acid, which interacts with calcium in the animal's body and causes calcium excretion, and lime is used to reduce its negative effect. Also, adding lime increases silage calcium and prevents the effects of calcium deficiency. In order to produce silage with good quality, it is necessary to fill the silage quickly and to compress the layers well in order to release the air between the fodder. Because the remaining air in the fodder material leads to the deterioration of the silage.
As much as possible, leaf and ring contamination with soil should be avoided so as not to contaminate the silage. If necessary, the leaf and crown should be washed and siled in a suitable place to prevent the evaporation of excess water. Sugar beet leaves and crowns can be ensiled with other fodder such as alfalfa, dry clover or straw; Especially when the amount of leaves and crowns of sugar beet is low, which is not possible to ensile them by itself.
If weather conditions (eg rain) do not allow the forage to remain in the field for a day or two and ensiling is delayed, then the forage is too moist which may lead to silage failure.
In order to reduce moisture during forage ensiling, you can use materials such as molasses, bran, cereal straw, barley or wheat flour, etc. in a ratio of one to ten. In this method, each ton of silage should contain 100 kilos of these materials. In addition to moisture absorption, the use of these materials improves the nutritional value of silage.
For moat silos, silura mass is normally placed half a meter above the moat surface and its shape is convex (fish pollen). This shape prevents rainwater from collecting on the silura and water penetration into the silura.
After finishing the silage operation, it is necessary to completely cover the Silura surface with thick plastic and by placing heavy items such as old tires or pouring soil on the plastic, air penetration into the Silura is prevented.
After about 2 months, silura of sugar beet leaves and rings can be used for animal feed.
2- What is the bag silage method?
If access to ditch or surface silos is not possible or the amount of sugar beet residues (leaves and crowns) is limited, bag silage method can be used. In this method, after the leaf and crown of sugar beet are licked for 2-1/5 days in the field, the chopped grass is placed inside a double-walled bag (the inner layer of which is plastic and the outer layer may be hemp or polyethylene and suitable resistance It is poured against the suction pressure of the air evacuation device) and by tapping normally and being careful so as not to tear the inner layer, we compress the grass to some extent and remove the air between it. Then we remove the air inside the bag as much as possible by the suction device, which has the power to evacuate the air. The best and cheapest air suction device is a mobile shower valve or a vacuum cleaner. To use the suction device, we must first cover the head of the suction pipe with a wire net to prevent grass from entering the device, and then put the suction pipe into the bag and close the bag lid with a tight thread as soon as the air is expelled. It is better to do this operation by two people.
Usually, the capacity of the bags varies, but the bigger the bag, the longer the vacuum will take to evacuate the air. In this method, we have to mix the silage additives (urea, molasses, dead lime and water) with the previously mentioned amounts well with the fodder and then fill the bags. The suitable capacity for bag silos is around 40-60 kg. If double-walled bags are not available, thick plastic bags can be used for ensiling waste and agricultural residues such as leaves and sugar beet tops. There is no need to use air suction devices in plastic bags with low capacity, and the air inside the bags can be removed by squeezing the fodder by hand.
The important point in using plastic bags is to ensure their proper thickness. Because thin bags do not have the necessary resistance to compress fodder and are quickly damaged during handling or storage. As a result, the silage inside them gets corrupted and damaged.
This silo should also be kept for 2 months in a suitable place away from sunlight and reachable by animals such as mice, then used in livestock ration.
What are the desired characteristics of sugar beet leaf and ring silage?
If sugar beet leaf silage is stored in the right conditions, it should have green color similar to fodder, smell similar to vinegar and soft structure. The skin on the stem and leaves should not be easily removed by rubbing with a finger. Unpleasant silos with a bad smell (such as the smell of rotten cheese) and signs of decay are not of good quality and may be associated with health problems. It should be noted that the fodder that has remained in the field for some time and dried, their silage has a slightly greenish-brown color.
How much is the consumption of sugar beet silage leaves and rings in animal feed?
The margin of leaf silage and sugar beet collars for breeding and fattening sheep in the amount of 1-2 kg per day and for fattening calves up to 25% of the daily food population of livestock (that is, for every 10 kg of food, up to 5.2 kg of leaf silage and sugar beet collars) can be used. To use sugar beet leaf and ring silage in livestock feeding, it is better to consider a 7-10 day habituation period and start with small amounts and gradually increase the amount of silage and avoid sudden and large consumption of the above silage in the diet. do. It is better to mix sugar beet leaf silage with dry materials such as straw and stubble and give it to livestock. As mentioned, due to soil contamination, the use of leaf silage and sugar beet pulp in dairy cows, especially purebred dairy cows, is not recommended. Also, do not use this silage to feed pregnant animals such as goats. It should be noted that the bag silage method for silage of other agricultural waste such as potato leaves and stalks and pulp of fruits such as apples, tomatoes, grapes, etc., until after dewatering, is possible in rural conditions and by using this method, in addition to By preventing agricultural waste, you can provide proper and economical food for livestock in winter.
summary:
1- The use of agricultural waste in animal feed reduces the cost of animal breeding.
2- The leaf and crown of sugar beet form the usable part of this product, which can be given to livestock as fodder.
3- Ensiling sugar beet leaves and crowns increases its durability and improves its quality, and it can be used to feed livestock in winter when fresh fodder is not available.
4- Sugar beet leaves and crowns can be ensiled in underground, surface and bag silos.
5- To improve the quality of sugar beet leaf silage, urea, dead lime molasses and water can be used.
6- Sugar beet leaf silage is used to feed livestock.
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