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Background <p>In the Loess Plateau region, corn silage production is constrained by water scarcity and rising costs. Triticale silage offers a promising alternative, yet its impact on the performance, metabolism, and rumen microbiota of Pingliang Red Cattle (PRC) remains poorly understood. This study therefore evaluated the effects of substituting corn silage with triticale silage on growth performance, pancreatic enzyme activity, serum biochemistry, rumen fermentation, and the rumen microbial community in PRC, and applied the TOPSIS method to determine the optimal substitution ratio.</p> Methods <p>Thirty clinically healthy 18-month-old PRC bulls with good appetite (initial body weight, 400 ± 50&#xa0;kg) were selected and assigned to a completely randomized design. Animals were randomly allocated to five groups (<i>n</i> = 6 per group), including a control group fed 100% corn silage (T0) and four treatment groups in which triticale silage substituted corn silage at 30% (T1), 50% (T2), 70% (T3), and 100% (T4), respectively. Except for the type and proportion of silage, all other dietary components were kept constant. The experiment consisted of a 14-day adaptation period followed by a 90-day feeding trial.</p> Results <p>With increasing substitution level, trypsin (TS) and chymotrypsin (CT) activities, and serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were significantly elevated (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.01); urinary urea nitrogen (UUN) concentration tended to decrease; rumen ammonia nitrogen (NH<sub>3</sub>-N) concentration was significantly reduced (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.01); total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) and microbial crude protein (MCP) contents increased; and the relative abundances of core functional taxa (<i>Firmicutes</i>, <i>Bacteroidota</i>, <i>Prevotella</i>) also rose. However, dry mater intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) decreased significantly (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) with increasing substitution ratio.</p> Conclusions <p>The TOPSIS analysis, integrating all evaluated parameters (growth performance, serum biomarkers, rumen fermentation, and microbial community), identified the 30% substitution ratio as optimal. At this level, production performance remained comparable to the T0, while protein digestion, metabolic balance, rumen fermentation, and microbial community structure were improved, achieving integrated benefits across digestive, metabolic, and microbial dimensions, thereby directly addressing the study’s objective to determine the optimal substitution ratio.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

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Effects of triticale silage substitution for corn silage on growth performance, serum biomarkers, rumen fermentation, and rumen bacterial community of Pingliang Red Cattle

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月15日

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  • Weiqiang Wang,
  • Wenhua Du,
  • Fangyuan Zhao,
  • Qian Song,
  • Junsheng He

摘要

Background

In the Loess Plateau region, corn silage production is constrained by water scarcity and rising costs. Triticale silage offers a promising alternative, yet its impact on the performance, metabolism, and rumen microbiota of Pingliang Red Cattle (PRC) remains poorly understood. This study therefore evaluated the effects of substituting corn silage with triticale silage on growth performance, pancreatic enzyme activity, serum biochemistry, rumen fermentation, and the rumen microbial community in PRC, and applied the TOPSIS method to determine the optimal substitution ratio.

Methods

Thirty clinically healthy 18-month-old PRC bulls with good appetite (initial body weight, 400 ± 50 kg) were selected and assigned to a completely randomized design. Animals were randomly allocated to five groups (n = 6 per group), including a control group fed 100% corn silage (T0) and four treatment groups in which triticale silage substituted corn silage at 30% (T1), 50% (T2), 70% (T3), and 100% (T4), respectively. Except for the type and proportion of silage, all other dietary components were kept constant. The experiment consisted of a 14-day adaptation period followed by a 90-day feeding trial.

Results

With increasing substitution level, trypsin (TS) and chymotrypsin (CT) activities, and serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were significantly elevated (P < 0.01); urinary urea nitrogen (UUN) concentration tended to decrease; rumen ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration was significantly reduced (P < 0.01); total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) and microbial crude protein (MCP) contents increased; and the relative abundances of core functional taxa (Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Prevotella) also rose. However, dry mater intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing substitution ratio.

Conclusions

The TOPSIS analysis, integrating all evaluated parameters (growth performance, serum biomarkers, rumen fermentation, and microbial community), identified the 30% substitution ratio as optimal. At this level, production performance remained comparable to the T0, while protein digestion, metabolic balance, rumen fermentation, and microbial community structure were improved, achieving integrated benefits across digestive, metabolic, and microbial dimensions, thereby directly addressing the study’s objective to determine the optimal substitution ratio.

Graphical abstract