Item | NC | PC | Q-2 | C-10 | SEM | P-value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
pH | 7.02b | 7.11a | 7.08a | 7.00b | 0.028 | < 0.001 |
NH3-N, mmol/L | 10.52a | 6.94c | 6.67c | 7.84b | 0.927 | < 0.001 |
Volatile fatty acids, mmol/L | 82.4a | 68.2b | 70.7b | 81.4a | 1.35 | < 0.001 |
Branched-chain volatile fatty acids, mmol/L | 5.23a | 5.21ab | 4.91b | 5.29a | 0.255 | 0.006 |
Proportions of volatile fatty acids, % of total | ||||||
Acetate | 49.16a | 49.52a | 48.09b | 49.39a | 1.030 | < 0.001 |
Propionate | 22.69a | 17.24d | 19.64c | 21.42b | 2.303 | < 0.001 |
iso-butyrate | 1.33b | 1.60a | 1.54a | 1.32b | 0.178 | < 0.001 |
Butyrate | 15.61c | 19.30a | 19.44a | 16.86b | 2.600 | < 0.001 |
iso-valerate | 5.06c | 6.07a | 5.40b | 5.19bc | 0.200 | < 0.001 |
Valerate | 6.15ab | 6.26a | 5.88bc | 5.82c | 1.033 | < 0.001 |
Acetate:propionate ratio | 2.22c | 2.96a | 2.49b | 2.36b | 0.220 | < 0.001 |
Ruminal degradabilites | ||||||
Dry matter (dDM), % | 59.5a | 55.2b | 57.8a | 58.7a | 0.84 | < 0.001 |
Organic matter (dOM), % of supply | 59.2a | 51.6c | 55.4b | 56.7b | 0.91 | < 0.001 |
Organic matter (dOMDM), % of dry matter (DM) supply | 45.7a | 42.6b | 43.8b | 44.4ab | 0.72 | < 0.001 |
Neutral detergent fibre (dNDF), % of supply | 36.2a | 31.2b | 25.5c | 28.2bc | 1.67 | < 0.001 |
Neutral detergent fibre (dNDFDM), % of DM supply | 17.6a | 15.5b | 11.6c | 12.9c | 0.80 | < 0.001 |
Crude protein (dCP), % of supply | 84.9a | 82.5b | 82.9b | 83.6b | 0.42 | < 0.001 |
Protozoa, 103/mL | 131a | 4b | 118a | 155a | 25.9 | < 0.001 |
Bacteria, 109/mL | 1.11b | 1.40ab | 1.51a | 1.23ab | 0.160 | < 0.01 |