Effects of sorghum hybrid sudangrass on growth performance,rumen fermentation parameters,and economic benefits of beef cattle

FAN Qian; FENG Guofeng

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.21.006

Abstract：The experiment aimed to investigate the effects of different proportions of sorghum hybrid sudangrass on the growth performance,rumen fermentation parameters,and breeding economic benefits of beef cattle.A total of 60 healthy and physically similar Simmental beef cattle were selected and randomly divided into four groups,with three replicates per group and five beef cattle per replicate.The control group(group CK)was fed a basal diet,while the groups A,B,C were replaced with 25％,50％,and 75％of whole-plant corn silage in the basal diet with sorghum hybrid sudangrass,respectively.The pre-test period was seven days,and the formal test period was 60 days.The results showed that compared with the group CK,the average daily weight gain of beef cattle in group B was significantly increased by 14.43％(P＜0.05),and the feed to gain ratio was significantly decreased by 12.45％(P＜0.05).Compared with the group CK,the apparent digestibility of organic matter in group B was significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the apparent digestibility of dry matter and acidic detergent fiber in groups B and C were significantly increased(P＜0.05).The apparent digestibility of crude protein and neutral detergent fiber in groups A,B,and C were significantly increased(P＜0.05).Compared with the group CK,the acetic acid and bacterial protein concentrations in groups B and C were significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the propionic acid content in groups A,B,and C was significantly increased(P＜0.05).Compared with the group CK,the feed cost per kilogram of weight gain for beef cattle in groups A,B,and C was significantly reduced(P＜0.05),with group B having the lowest feed cost per kilogram of weight gain.The study shows that replacing 50％of the whole-plant corn silage in the basal diet with sorghum hybrid sudangrass can improve the growth performance of beef cattle and improve the economic benefits of aquaculture.