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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #213505
Title: Comparison of Bloat Potential Between Hard Red and Soft Red Winter Wheat

Author
item AKINS, MATT - UNIV. OF ARKANSAS
item KEGLEY, ELIZABETH - UNIV. OF ARKANSAS
item LUSBY, KEITH - UNIV. OF ARKANSAS
item COFFEY, KENNETH - UNIV. OF ARKANSAS
item Coblentz, Wayne
item BACON, ROBERT - UNIV. OF ARKANSAS
item CALDWELL, J - UNIV. OF ARKANSAS
item MOORE, J - UNIV. OF ARKANSAS

Submitted to: Joint Meeting of the ADSA, AMSA, ASAS and PSA
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/13/2007
Publication Date: 7/11/2007
Citation: Akins, M.S., Kegley, E.B., Lusby, K.S., Coffey, K.P., Coblentz, W.K., Bacon, R.K., Caldwell, J.D., Moore, J.C. 2007. Comparison of Bloat Potential Between Hard Red and Soft Red Winter Wheat [abstract]. Joint Meeting of the ADSA, AMSA, ASAS and PSA. Journal of Animal Science (supplement 1). 85:499.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Some aspects of wheat pasture bloat have been researched extensively, but little research has evaluated the effects of wheat type on bloat. Forty-eight Angus stocker calves (238 ± 12 kg BW) and 8 Angus ruminally cannulated heifers (515 ± 49 kg BW) grazed 1-ha pastures of either hard red (HR) or soft red (SR) winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to evaluate the effect of wheat type on bloat potential. Cattle grazed from November 11 to 22 and from November 26 to December 7, 2006 in a crossover design. Bloat was scored at 1000 and 1600 daily. Rumen samples were taken the last 2 d of each period at 0600, 1200, and 1800, and then evaluated for pH, foam production/strength, and consistency. Forage availability was not different (P > 0.05) between HR and SR at any time. Respective initial and final forage availabilities were 1385 and 1071 kg/ha for HR, and 1504 and 901 kg/ha for SR. Overall, the stocker calves bloated 2.1% of the observations with no differences between HR and SR (P = 0.52). Rumen fluid pH did not differ between HR and SR (P = 0.89) at any point in the day (overall mean = 5.95). Consistency of the rumen fluid differed (P < 0.0001) across wheat types. Fluid from heifers on SR flowed 7.4 cm and HR flowed 9.5 cm in a consistometer. There was also a type by time interaction (P = 0.03) with SR at 1200 and 1800 being more viscous than SR at 0600 and all HR. Foam production as determined by bubbling CO2 gas through rumen fluid in a cylinder was greater (P = 0.01) for SR (9.1 cm) compared to HR (5.7 cm). Foam strength measured as a percentage of initial foam height was greater (P = 0.01) for SR (45%) than for HR (28.5%). Differences (P = 0.001) between sampling times occurred with foam strength at 0600 (18%) being less than 1200 (43%) or 1800 (48%). Results indicate that SR had a higher bloat potential than HR in rumen fluid measurements, but no differences were observed in the frequency of bloat in stocker cattle.