Prediction of the Chemical Composition and Fermentation Parameters of Winter Rye Silages by Near Infrared Spectroscopy

This study was carried out to explore the accuracy of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for the prediction of chemical and fermentation parameters of whole crop winter rye silages. A representative population of 216 fresh winter rye silages was used as database for studying the possibilities of NIRS to predict chemical composition and fermentation parameters. Samples of silage were scanned at 1 nm intervals over the wavelength range 680~2,500 nm and the optical data recorded as log 1/Reflectance (log 1/R) and scanned in fresh condition. NIRS calibrations were developed by means of partial least-squares (PLS) regression. NIRS analysis of fresh winter rye silages provided accurate predictions of moisture, acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), crude protein (CP) and pH as well as lactic acid content with correlation coefficients of cross-validation ($R^2cv$) of 0.96, 0.86, 0.79, 0.85, 0.82 and 0.78 respectively and standard error of cross-validation (SECV) of 1.89, 2.02, 2.79, 1.14, 1.47 and 0.46 % DM respectively. Results of this experiment showed the possibility of NIRS method to predict the chemical parameters of winter rye silages as routine analysis method in feeding value evaluation and for farmer advice.