Effect of Aspergillus Niger and Oryzae on the intake and digestibility of Coastal Bermudagrass and Tiffany hay in horses

Date

2021-05-11

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare voluntary dry matter intake and nutrient digestibility of Tiffany (T) and Coastal Bermudagrass (B) hays, and evaluate the effect of a functional feed additive containing a dried Aspergillus Niger and Aspergillus Oryzae fermentation product, MaxFiber (MF; Provida Supplements, Germany. Fecal samples were collected from 4 mature, stock type geldings in a 4 x 4 Latin Square design experiment with horses receiving all 4 treatments in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement: B, T, B plus 10 g of MF (B+MF), and T plus 10 g MF (T+MF). Each period consisted of a 3-d acclimation, followed by a 17-d voluntary intake phase, and ending with a 72-h total fecal collection. Samples were analyzed for ash adjusted neutral detergent fiber (aNDFom; Dairyland Laboratories, Inc. Arcadia, WI) and proximate analysis (Servi-Tech Laboratories, Amarillo, TX). Data was analyzed using the Mixed Procedure of SAS v. 9.4 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC), with horse, period, hay, supplement, and hay by supplement interaction as main effects. Least Squares Means were compared using PDIFF in SAS to compare treatment mean with significance declared at P < 0.05 and trends declared at P < 0.10. The overall apparent dry matter (DM) digestibility of T (53.2%) was greater (P < 0.01) than that of B (35.9%) regardless of the supplement inclusion. There was an effect of hay (P < 0.001) on overall mean apparent CP digestibility with T (75.9%) being greater (P < 0.001) than B (45.7%) regardless of supplement. There was a significant effect hay (P = 0.01) on overall mean aNDFom. Digestibility of aNDFom was greater (P < 0.01) for T (54.0%) compared to B (41.0%). There was an effect of hay (P < 0.01) on overall acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility. Overall ADF digestibility was greater (P < 0.01) for T (46.0%) compared to B (30.2%). There was an effect of hay (P < 0.001) on VDMI, with intake levels of T (10.9 kg/d) greater (P < 0.001) than intakes of B (8.5 kg/d). These results indicate that there were no significant differences in DM and nutrient digestibilities or VDMI for MF-treated horses, however, Tiffany hay had greater VDMI, DM, CP, NDF, and ADF digestibility.

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Keywords

Coastal Bermudagrass, Tiffany, Functional Feed Additice

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