Analysis of factors influencing the degradation rate of neutral detergent fiber in whole-plant corn silage: Taking Zhengda 12 in Ningxia as an example

Taking 23 Zea mays silages from different production areas in Ningxia as the research object, the grey correlation method was used to analyze the correlation degree between the 30-hour neutral detergent fiber degradation rate (NDFD₃₀) and the nutritional components. In addition, a regression model was constructed for predicting the NDFD₃₀ according to the nutrient components. This was done to explore the key factors that affect the NDFD₃₀ of whole corn silage to provide a basis for improving the utilization efficiency of roughage and the production performance of dairy cows. The results showed that the order of the degree of correlation between the nutrient composition and NDFD₃₀ was crude protein > crude fat > crude ash > carbohydrate > neutral detergent fiber > acid detergent fiber > lignin > dry matter > starch. The NDFD₃₀ of corn silage was negatively correlated with the dry matter, crude protein, acid detergent fiber, lignin, and crude ash, and positively correlated with the neutral detergent fiber, carbohydrates, starch, and crude fat. The R² of the regression model between the NDFD₃₀ and nutrients was 0.912, and the effective influencing factors were lignin, crude fat, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and crude ash. In summary, crude protein, crude fat, crude ash, and neutral detergent fiber are the key factors that affect the NDFD₃₀.