Effect of urea ammoniation on the nutritional quality of Setaria sphacelata hay in cattle
In the Northeast region of Argentina (NEA), haymaking of tropical grasses at advanced phenological stages frequently results in forages of low nutritional quality, limiting cattle performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of ammoniation with increasing levels of urea on the...
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Artículo revista |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
| Publicado: |
Universidad Nacional del Nordeste
2026
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.unne.edu.ar/index.php/vet/article/view/9222 |
| Aporte de: |
| id |
I48-R154-article-9222 |
|---|---|
| record_format |
ojs |
| institution |
Universidad Nacional del Nordeste |
| institution_str |
I-48 |
| repository_str |
R-154 |
| container_title_str |
Revistas UNNE - Universidad Nacional del Noroeste (UNNE) |
| language |
Español |
| format |
Artículo revista |
| topic |
Blood urea nitrogen dry matter intake tropical grass chemical treatment of forages Nitrógeno ureico en sangre consumo de materia seca gramínea megatérmica tratamiento químico de forrajes |
| spellingShingle |
Blood urea nitrogen dry matter intake tropical grass chemical treatment of forages Nitrógeno ureico en sangre consumo de materia seca gramínea megatérmica tratamiento químico de forrajes Navamuel, Juan Marcelo Aguilar, Natalia Koza, Gabriela Alejandra Slukwa, Mario Arenhardt , Sabina Soledad Rolón Bruno, Miguel Ángel Calderón Sadlovsky , Santiago Manuel Gandara, Luis Effect of urea ammoniation on the nutritional quality of Setaria sphacelata hay in cattle |
| topic_facet |
Blood urea nitrogen dry matter intake tropical grass chemical treatment of forages Nitrógeno ureico en sangre consumo de materia seca gramínea megatérmica tratamiento químico de forrajes |
| author |
Navamuel, Juan Marcelo Aguilar, Natalia Koza, Gabriela Alejandra Slukwa, Mario Arenhardt , Sabina Soledad Rolón Bruno, Miguel Ángel Calderón Sadlovsky , Santiago Manuel Gandara, Luis |
| author_facet |
Navamuel, Juan Marcelo Aguilar, Natalia Koza, Gabriela Alejandra Slukwa, Mario Arenhardt , Sabina Soledad Rolón Bruno, Miguel Ángel Calderón Sadlovsky , Santiago Manuel Gandara, Luis |
| author_sort |
Navamuel, Juan Marcelo |
| title |
Effect of urea ammoniation on the nutritional quality of Setaria sphacelata hay in cattle |
| title_short |
Effect of urea ammoniation on the nutritional quality of Setaria sphacelata hay in cattle |
| title_full |
Effect of urea ammoniation on the nutritional quality of Setaria sphacelata hay in cattle |
| title_fullStr |
Effect of urea ammoniation on the nutritional quality of Setaria sphacelata hay in cattle |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Effect of urea ammoniation on the nutritional quality of Setaria sphacelata hay in cattle |
| title_sort |
effect of urea ammoniation on the nutritional quality of setaria sphacelata hay in cattle |
| description |
In the Northeast region of Argentina (NEA), haymaking of tropical grasses at advanced phenological stages frequently results in forages of low nutritional quality, limiting cattle performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of ammoniation with increasing levels of urea on the nutritional quality of Setaria sphacelata hay and its impact on intake, weight gain, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in growing cattle. Low-quality Setaria hay (3.96% CP; 81.48% NDF) was treated with urea on a dry matter basis at levels of 0% (T0-control), 3.5% (T1), 7.0% (T2), and 10.5% (T3), with an incubation period of 28 days. The chemical composition of the hay (n=16 hay bales) was evaluated under a completely randomized design. Subsequently, a feeding trial was conducted with eight cattle (four calves weighing 163 ± 2 kg and four steers weighing 286 ± 3 kg) under a 4×4 Latin square design for 84 days, measuring dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG) and BUN. Ammoniation linearly increased crude protein content (from 3.96% in T0 to 12.03% in T3; p<0.001), without significantly affecting fiber fractions (NDF, ADF). DMI showed a quadratic response (p<0.05), with the highest values observed in T1 (3.93 kg d⁻¹ in calves and 5.23 kg d⁻¹ in steers). ADG showed a significant linear effect in calves (p=0.042), with positive values in T0 (+0.23 kg d⁻¹) and T1 (+0.42 kg d⁻¹) and negative values in T2 (-0.19 kg d⁻¹) and T3 (-0.25 kg d⁻¹); in steers, a similar pattern was observed although it did not reach statistical significance. BUN increased linearly (p<0.001) with urea dose, reaching 31.9-32.4 mg dL⁻¹ in T3. These results indicate that ammoniation with 3.5% urea is the optimal strategy to improve the nutritional quality of S. sphacelata hay and maximize intake and weight gain, whereas higher doses lead to excess non-protein nitrogen, evidenced by elevated BUN (>23 mg dL⁻¹) and body weight loss, suggesting an imbalance between nitrogen availability and fermentable energy in the rumen. |
| publisher |
Universidad Nacional del Nordeste |
| publishDate |
2026 |
| url |
https://revistas.unne.edu.ar/index.php/vet/article/view/9222 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT navamueljuanmarcelo effectofureaammoniationonthenutritionalqualityofsetariasphacelatahayincattle AT aguilarnatalia effectofureaammoniationonthenutritionalqualityofsetariasphacelatahayincattle AT kozagabrielaalejandra effectofureaammoniationonthenutritionalqualityofsetariasphacelatahayincattle AT slukwamario effectofureaammoniationonthenutritionalqualityofsetariasphacelatahayincattle AT arenhardtsabinasoledad effectofureaammoniationonthenutritionalqualityofsetariasphacelatahayincattle AT rolonbrunomiguelangel effectofureaammoniationonthenutritionalqualityofsetariasphacelatahayincattle AT calderonsadlovskysantiagomanuel effectofureaammoniationonthenutritionalqualityofsetariasphacelatahayincattle AT gandaraluis effectofureaammoniationonthenutritionalqualityofsetariasphacelatahayincattle AT navamueljuanmarcelo efectodelaamonificacionconureasobrelacalidadnutritivadelhenodesetariasphacelataenbovinos AT aguilarnatalia efectodelaamonificacionconureasobrelacalidadnutritivadelhenodesetariasphacelataenbovinos AT kozagabrielaalejandra efectodelaamonificacionconureasobrelacalidadnutritivadelhenodesetariasphacelataenbovinos AT slukwamario efectodelaamonificacionconureasobrelacalidadnutritivadelhenodesetariasphacelataenbovinos AT arenhardtsabinasoledad efectodelaamonificacionconureasobrelacalidadnutritivadelhenodesetariasphacelataenbovinos AT rolonbrunomiguelangel efectodelaamonificacionconureasobrelacalidadnutritivadelhenodesetariasphacelataenbovinos AT calderonsadlovskysantiagomanuel efectodelaamonificacionconureasobrelacalidadnutritivadelhenodesetariasphacelataenbovinos AT gandaraluis efectodelaamonificacionconureasobrelacalidadnutritivadelhenodesetariasphacelataenbovinos |
| first_indexed |
2026-04-17T05:00:57Z |
| last_indexed |
2026-04-17T05:00:57Z |
| _version_ |
1862692563434078208 |
| spelling |
I48-R154-article-92222026-04-09T12:28:22Z Effect of urea ammoniation on the nutritional quality of Setaria sphacelata hay in cattle Efecto de la amonificación con urea sobre la calidad nutritiva del heno de Setaria sphacelata en bovinos Navamuel, Juan Marcelo Aguilar, Natalia Koza, Gabriela Alejandra Slukwa, Mario Arenhardt , Sabina Soledad Rolón Bruno, Miguel Ángel Calderón Sadlovsky , Santiago Manuel Gandara, Luis Blood urea nitrogen dry matter intake tropical grass chemical treatment of forages Nitrógeno ureico en sangre consumo de materia seca gramínea megatérmica tratamiento químico de forrajes In the Northeast region of Argentina (NEA), haymaking of tropical grasses at advanced phenological stages frequently results in forages of low nutritional quality, limiting cattle performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of ammoniation with increasing levels of urea on the nutritional quality of Setaria sphacelata hay and its impact on intake, weight gain, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in growing cattle. Low-quality Setaria hay (3.96% CP; 81.48% NDF) was treated with urea on a dry matter basis at levels of 0% (T0-control), 3.5% (T1), 7.0% (T2), and 10.5% (T3), with an incubation period of 28 days. The chemical composition of the hay (n=16 hay bales) was evaluated under a completely randomized design. Subsequently, a feeding trial was conducted with eight cattle (four calves weighing 163 ± 2 kg and four steers weighing 286 ± 3 kg) under a 4×4 Latin square design for 84 days, measuring dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG) and BUN. Ammoniation linearly increased crude protein content (from 3.96% in T0 to 12.03% in T3; p<0.001), without significantly affecting fiber fractions (NDF, ADF). DMI showed a quadratic response (p<0.05), with the highest values observed in T1 (3.93 kg d⁻¹ in calves and 5.23 kg d⁻¹ in steers). ADG showed a significant linear effect in calves (p=0.042), with positive values in T0 (+0.23 kg d⁻¹) and T1 (+0.42 kg d⁻¹) and negative values in T2 (-0.19 kg d⁻¹) and T3 (-0.25 kg d⁻¹); in steers, a similar pattern was observed although it did not reach statistical significance. BUN increased linearly (p<0.001) with urea dose, reaching 31.9-32.4 mg dL⁻¹ in T3. These results indicate that ammoniation with 3.5% urea is the optimal strategy to improve the nutritional quality of S. sphacelata hay and maximize intake and weight gain, whereas higher doses lead to excess non-protein nitrogen, evidenced by elevated BUN (>23 mg dL⁻¹) and body weight loss, suggesting an imbalance between nitrogen availability and fermentable energy in the rumen. En la región del Nordeste Argentino (NEA), la henificación de gramíneas megatérmicas en estados fenológicos avanzados genera frecuentemente forrajes de baja calidad nutritiva, lo que limita el desempeño productivo de los bovinos. El objetivo del presente ensayo fue evaluar el efecto de la amonificación con niveles crecientes de urea sobre la calidad nutritiva del heno de Setaria sphacelata y su impacto en el consumo, la ganancia diaria de peso (GDP) y el nitrógeno ureico en sangre (BUN) de bovinos en crecimiento. Se utilizó heno de S. sphacelata de baja calidad (3,96% PB; 81,48% FDN), tratado con urea en base a la materia seca en los niveles 0% (T0-testigo), 3,5% (T1), 7,0% (T2) y 10,5% (T3), con un período de incubación de 28 días. Se evaluó la composición química del heno (n=16 rollos) bajo un diseño completamente aleatorizado. Posteriormente, se realizó un ensayo de alimentación con 8 bovinos (4 terneros de 163 ± 2 kg y 4 novillos de 286 ± 3 kg) bajo un diseño de cuadrado latino 4×4 durante 84 días, midiendo el consumo de materia seca (CMS), la GDP y el BUN. La amonificación incrementó linealmente el contenido de proteína bruta (de 3,96% en T0 a 12,03% en T3; p<0,001), sin afectar significativamente las fracciones fibrosas (FDN, FDA). El CMS mostró una respuesta cuadrática (p<0,05), alcanzando valores máximos en T1 (3,93 kg d⁻¹ en terneros; 5,23 kg d⁻¹ en novillos). La GDP mostró un efecto lineal significativo en terneros (p=0,042), con valores positivos en T0 (+0,23 kg d⁻¹) y T1 (+0,42 kg d⁻¹) y negativos en T2 (-0,19 kg d⁻¹) y T3 (-0,25 kg d⁻¹); en novillos el patrón fue similar, aunque sin alcanzar significancia estadística. El BUN aumentó linealmente (p<0,001) con la dosis de urea, alcanzando niveles de 31,9-32,4 mg dL⁻¹ en T3. Se concluye que la amonificación con urea al 3,5% constituye la estrategia óptima para mejorar la calidad nutritiva del heno de S. sphacelata, maximizando el consumo y la ganancia de peso. Dosis superiores generan un exceso de nitrógeno no proteico, evidenciado por BUN elevado (>23 mg dL⁻¹) y pérdida de peso corporal, indicativo de un desbalance entre la disponibilidad de nitrógeno y la energía fermentable en el rumen. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste 2026-04-01 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf text/xml application/epub+zip text/html https://revistas.unne.edu.ar/index.php/vet/article/view/9222 10.30972/vet.3719222 Revista Veterinaria; Vol. 37 (2026); 1-8 Revista Veterinaria; Vol. 37 (2026); 1-8 1669-6840 1668-4834 spa https://revistas.unne.edu.ar/index.php/vet/article/view/9222/9082 https://revistas.unne.edu.ar/index.php/vet/article/view/9222/9122 https://revistas.unne.edu.ar/index.php/vet/article/view/9222/9123 https://revistas.unne.edu.ar/index.php/vet/article/view/9222/9124 Derechos de autor 2026 Juan Marcelo Navamuel, Natalia Aguilar, Gabriela Alejandra Koza, Mario Slukwa, Sabina Soledad Arenhardt , Miguel Ángel Rolón Bruno, Santiago Manuel Calderón Sadlovsky , Luis Gandara https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 |