Effects of treating corn silage with alpha-amylase and(or) sorbic acid on beef cattle growth and carcass characteristics.

The effects on beef cattle growth performance and carcass characteristics of feeding silages produced by altered fermentations were determined. Alpha-amylase was added at 0 or .05% (wet basis) and sorbic acid was added at 0 or .10% (wet basis) to chopped whole corn plants before ensiling in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. For three successive years, 40 beef heifers (224 kg) were fed these silages for 80 d, finished on corn-and-cob meal (107 d) and slaughtered when backfat thickness over the 13th rib reached 12 mm. Silages treated with alpha-amylase had a slightly higher percentage of N-free extract (P less than .10). Silages treated with sorbic acid had lower percentages of ADFN (P less than .10). During the silage-feeding phase, heifers fed silages treated with alpha-amylase gained more (P less than .01) daily than heifers fed the other two silages (.84 vs .78 kg) and they were more efficient (P less than .01) in weight gain per unit of dry feed consumed (.149 vs .139 kg). During the finishing phase, heifers that previously had been fed the alpha-amylase-treated silage continued to have higher (P less than .05) ADG (.93 vs .87 kg), although all were fed the same diet during this period. Added sorbic acid had no effect on ADG in either period. The percentage of kidney fat in heifers on the alpha-amylase treatments was increased (P less than .02, 2.2 vs 2.0). The biological mechanisms associated with the beneficial results of alpha-amylase addition are not understood yet.