THE EFFECTS OF REPLACING CORN GRAINS WITH DRY SUGAR BEET PULP ON THE INTEGRATIVE PARAMETERS OF RUMEN PH POSTPRANDIAL DYNAMICS

CATALIN DRAGOMIR, SMARANDA POP

Abstract: The effect of replacing corn grains with dry sugar beet pulp on the postprandial dynamics of rumen pH was assessed on two fistulated cows, in a 2 x 2 Latin square experimental design. A standard diet, designed to ensure optimal rumen function, was suddenly replaced by the experimental diets consisting in 2 kg alfalfa hay and 6 or 8 kg of compound feed based either on corn (control) or sugar beet pulp (experimental). Rumen pH was measured for 12 hours after the morning meal, on rumen fluid samples taken every two hours and synthetic parameters of pH evolution were also calculated. The results highlighted a noticeable animal-related variability of pH dynamics (0.2 pH units difference between averages of cows), a strong effect of the compound feed level (- 0.16 pH units / kg of supplementary compound feed, approximately) and a rather small effect of the replacement of corn by sugar beet pulp (0.13 pH units). The differences were more noticeable when expressed in time or area under pH thresholds.

Keywords: cows; rumen pH; sugar beet pulp

Date published: 2023-02-22