ABSTRACT
The effects of feeding fooder beet to autumm calvig dairy cows

Fernando Klein R.1, Francisco Lanuza A.1, Fernando Meyer O.1, y Selvin Ferrada N.1
 
The nutritional value of fooder beet (Beta vulgaris L. spp vulgaris) tor autumm calving dairy cows wasevaluated during the winter of 1988 at Remehue Exp. Sta., Osorno.Twenty tour friesian cows were allocated in two treatments to evaluate milk production and quality, drymatter intake (D.M.I.) and urea and glucosa concentration in blood. The trial was conducted during 13weeks, from the 7th. to the 19th. week of lactation. The cows consumad 2 kg of grass-hay, 3.3 kg ofbarley, 0,7 kg of fish-meal, 0.18 kg of mineralmix, and grass silage ad libitum. Treatment II received 22kg of fooder beet additionally (2.84 kg D.M.).Silage D.M.I. was lower for treatment II (P ≤ 0.05), and the reduction was 0.41 kg per kg D.M.I. fooderbeet. Total D.M.I. was 13% greater for treatment II (P ≤ 0.05). Milk production (L/day), fat (%) andF.C.M. (L/day) were 17.8 and 19.1 (P ≤ 0.05); 3.31, 3.55 (P ≥ 0,05); 15.9 and 18.0 (P≤ 0.05) fortreatment I and II, respectively. Urea and glucose levels in blood were 23.2 and 18.4 mg/100 ml (P ≤ 0.05) and 70.2 and 70.9 mg/100 ml (P≥0.05), respectively for treatments I and II.
Key words: fooder beet, milk production, gras silage
1Estación Experimental Remehue (INIA), Casilla 24-0, Osorno, Chile.