Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass Hay

Autores: Feksa Frasson, Mónica; Gere, José Ignacio; Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza; Arroquy, Jose Ignacio; Wawrzkiewicz, Marisa; Jaurena, Gustavo
Año de publicación: 2026
Idioma: inglés
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado: versión publicada
Descripción: Feed intake and diet quality are key factors influencing enteric methane (CH4) emissions in ruminants. Low-quality C4 grasses typically limit intake and are associated with high CH4 yield. Nitrogen supplementation may improve rumen function and reduce CH4 emissions per unit of feed intake, although responses under low-quality forage conditions remain insufficiently characterized. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effects of nitrogen supplementation (urea- or nitrate-containing supplements) on the utilization of low-quality weeping lovegrass hay (Eragrostis curvula) and CH4 yield in beef steers. Twenty-four Aberdeen Angus steers (326 ± 27 kg body weight) were assigned to three treatments: (1) weeping lovegrass hay alone; (2) weeping lovegrass hay + sunflower expeller + urea; and (3) weeping lovegrass hay + sunflower expeller + potassium nitrate (KNO3). The proportion of non-protein nitrogen (NPN; urea and KNO3) included in the supplements was set according to the maximum tolerated threshold. Methane emissions were measured using the SF6 tracer technique. Compared with the hay-only treatment, supplemented animals increased dry matter intake (DMI) by 35% and 38% in the urea and nitrate treatments, respectively (p < 0.01). Total CH4 emissions (g/d) were not affected by treatment (p = 0.16). However, CH4 yield (g CH4/kg DMI) decreased by 27% and 38% in the urea and nitrate treatments, respectively (p < 0.01). The methane conversion factor (Ym) was also reduced in supplemented animals. Under the conditions of this study, supplementation of low-quality weeping lovegrass hay with nitrogen-containing supplements increased feed intake and reduced CH4 yield without affecting total CH4 emissions. These findings highlight the importance of considering CH4 emission intensity, in addition to absolute emissions, when evaluating mitigation opportunities in forage-based beef production systems.
Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria
Fil: Feksa Frasson, Mónica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina
Fil: Gere, José. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo de las Ingenierías; Argentina
Fil: Gere, José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo de las Ingenierías; Argentina
Fil: Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria; Argentina
Fil: Arroquy, Jose Ignacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Cesáreo Naredo; Argentina
Fil: Wawrzkiewicz, Marisa. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina
Fil: Jaurena, Gustavo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina
Fuente: Methane 5 (3) : 19. (June 2026)
Materia: Ganado Bovino
Cattle
Buey
Bullocks
Alimentación de los Animales
Animal Feeding
Nitrógeno
Nitrogen
Suplementos
Supplements
Ingestión de Piensos
Feed Intake
Emisión de Metano
Methane Emissions
Heno
Hay
Novillos
Steers
Nivel de accesibilidad: acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
Institución: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
OAI Identificador: oai:localhost:20.500.12123/27119

Acceder

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spelling	Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass HayFeksa Frasson, MónicaGere, José IgnacioCeron Cucchi, Maria EsperanzaArroquy, Jose IgnacioWawrzkiewicz, MarisaJaurena, GustavoGanado BovinoCattleBueyBullocksAlimentación de los AnimalesAnimal FeedingNitrógenoNitrogenSuplementosSupplementsIngestión de PiensosFeed IntakeEmisión de MetanoMethane EmissionsHenoHayNovillosSteersFeed intake and diet quality are key factors influencing enteric methane (CH4) emissions in ruminants. Low-quality C4 grasses typically limit intake and are associated with high CH4 yield. Nitrogen supplementation may improve rumen function and reduce CH4 emissions per unit of feed intake, although responses under low-quality forage conditions remain insufficiently characterized. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effects of nitrogen supplementation (urea- or nitrate-containing supplements) on the utilization of low-quality weeping lovegrass hay (Eragrostis curvula) and CH4 yield in beef steers. Twenty-four Aberdeen Angus steers (326 ± 27 kg body weight) were assigned to three treatments: (1) weeping lovegrass hay alone; (2) weeping lovegrass hay + sunflower expeller + urea; and (3) weeping lovegrass hay + sunflower expeller + potassium nitrate (KNO3). The proportion of non-protein nitrogen (NPN; urea and KNO3) included in the supplements was set according to the maximum tolerated threshold. Methane emissions were measured using the SF6 tracer technique. Compared with the hay-only treatment, supplemented animals increased dry matter intake (DMI) by 35% and 38% in the urea and nitrate treatments, respectively (p < 0.01). Total CH4 emissions (g/d) were not affected by treatment (p = 0.16). However, CH4 yield (g CH4/kg DMI) decreased by 27% and 38% in the urea and nitrate treatments, respectively (p < 0.01). The methane conversion factor (Ym) was also reduced in supplemented animals. Under the conditions of this study, supplementation of low-quality weeping lovegrass hay with nitrogen-containing supplements increased feed intake and reduced CH4 yield without affecting total CH4 emissions. These findings highlight the importance of considering CH4 emission intensity, in addition to absolute emissions, when evaluating mitigation opportunities in forage-based beef production systems.Instituto de Patobiología VeterinariaFil: Feksa Frasson, Mónica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Gere, José. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo de las Ingenierías; ArgentinaFil: Gere, José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo de las Ingenierías; ArgentinaFil: Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Arroquy, Jose Ignacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Cesáreo Naredo; ArgentinaFil: Wawrzkiewicz, Marisa. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Jaurena, Gustavo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; ArgentinaMDPI2026-07-23T16:06:12Z2026-07-23T16:06:12Z2026-06info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/27119https://www.mdpi.com/2674-0389/5/3/192674-0389https://doi.org/10.3390/methane5030019Methane 5 (3) : 19. (June 2026)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariaenginfo:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2019-PD-E3-I058-001, Emisiones (GEI) en los sistemas agropecuarios y forestales. Medidas de mitigacióninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)2026-09-24T11:43:29Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/27119instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2026-09-24 11:43:31.135INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv	Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass Hay
title	Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass Hay
spellingShingle	Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass Hay Feksa Frasson, Mónica Ganado Bovino Cattle Buey Bullocks Alimentación de los Animales Animal Feeding Nitrógeno Nitrogen Suplementos Supplements Ingestión de Piensos Feed Intake Emisión de Metano Methane Emissions Heno Hay Novillos Steers
title_short	Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass Hay
title_full	Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass Hay
title_fullStr	Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass Hay
title_full_unstemmed	Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass Hay
title_sort	Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass Hay
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv	Feksa Frasson, Mónica Gere, José Ignacio Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza Arroquy, Jose Ignacio Wawrzkiewicz, Marisa Jaurena, Gustavo
author	Feksa Frasson, Mónica
author_facet	Feksa Frasson, Mónica Gere, José Ignacio Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza Arroquy, Jose Ignacio Wawrzkiewicz, Marisa Jaurena, Gustavo
author_role	author
author2	Gere, José Ignacio Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza Arroquy, Jose Ignacio Wawrzkiewicz, Marisa Jaurena, Gustavo
author2_role	author author author author author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv	Ganado Bovino Cattle Buey Bullocks Alimentación de los Animales Animal Feeding Nitrógeno Nitrogen Suplementos Supplements Ingestión de Piensos Feed Intake Emisión de Metano Methane Emissions Heno Hay Novillos Steers
topic	Ganado Bovino Cattle Buey Bullocks Alimentación de los Animales Animal Feeding Nitrógeno Nitrogen Suplementos Supplements Ingestión de Piensos Feed Intake Emisión de Metano Methane Emissions Heno Hay Novillos Steers
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv	Feed intake and diet quality are key factors influencing enteric methane (CH4) emissions in ruminants. Low-quality C4 grasses typically limit intake and are associated with high CH4 yield. Nitrogen supplementation may improve rumen function and reduce CH4 emissions per unit of feed intake, although responses under low-quality forage conditions remain insufficiently characterized. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effects of nitrogen supplementation (urea- or nitrate-containing supplements) on the utilization of low-quality weeping lovegrass hay (Eragrostis curvula) and CH4 yield in beef steers. Twenty-four Aberdeen Angus steers (326 ± 27 kg body weight) were assigned to three treatments: (1) weeping lovegrass hay alone; (2) weeping lovegrass hay + sunflower expeller + urea; and (3) weeping lovegrass hay + sunflower expeller + potassium nitrate (KNO3). The proportion of non-protein nitrogen (NPN; urea and KNO3) included in the supplements was set according to the maximum tolerated threshold. Methane emissions were measured using the SF6 tracer technique. Compared with the hay-only treatment, supplemented animals increased dry matter intake (DMI) by 35% and 38% in the urea and nitrate treatments, respectively (p < 0.01). Total CH4 emissions (g/d) were not affected by treatment (p = 0.16). However, CH4 yield (g CH4/kg DMI) decreased by 27% and 38% in the urea and nitrate treatments, respectively (p < 0.01). The methane conversion factor (Ym) was also reduced in supplemented animals. Under the conditions of this study, supplementation of low-quality weeping lovegrass hay with nitrogen-containing supplements increased feed intake and reduced CH4 yield without affecting total CH4 emissions. These findings highlight the importance of considering CH4 emission intensity, in addition to absolute emissions, when evaluating mitigation opportunities in forage-based beef production systems. Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria Fil: Feksa Frasson, Mónica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina Fil: Gere, José. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo de las Ingenierías; Argentina Fil: Gere, José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo de las Ingenierías; Argentina Fil: Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Ceron Cucchi, Maria Esperanza. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria; Argentina Fil: Arroquy, Jose Ignacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Cesáreo Naredo; Argentina Fil: Wawrzkiewicz, Marisa. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina Fil: Jaurena, Gustavo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina
description	Feed intake and diet quality are key factors influencing enteric methane (CH4) emissions in ruminants. Low-quality C4 grasses typically limit intake and are associated with high CH4 yield. Nitrogen supplementation may improve rumen function and reduce CH4 emissions per unit of feed intake, although responses under low-quality forage conditions remain insufficiently characterized. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effects of nitrogen supplementation (urea- or nitrate-containing supplements) on the utilization of low-quality weeping lovegrass hay (Eragrostis curvula) and CH4 yield in beef steers. Twenty-four Aberdeen Angus steers (326 ± 27 kg body weight) were assigned to three treatments: (1) weeping lovegrass hay alone; (2) weeping lovegrass hay + sunflower expeller + urea; and (3) weeping lovegrass hay + sunflower expeller + potassium nitrate (KNO3). The proportion of non-protein nitrogen (NPN; urea and KNO3) included in the supplements was set according to the maximum tolerated threshold. Methane emissions were measured using the SF6 tracer technique. Compared with the hay-only treatment, supplemented animals increased dry matter intake (DMI) by 35% and 38% in the urea and nitrate treatments, respectively (p < 0.01). Total CH4 emissions (g/d) were not affected by treatment (p = 0.16). However, CH4 yield (g CH4/kg DMI) decreased by 27% and 38% in the urea and nitrate treatments, respectively (p < 0.01). The methane conversion factor (Ym) was also reduced in supplemented animals. Under the conditions of this study, supplementation of low-quality weeping lovegrass hay with nitrogen-containing supplements increased feed intake and reduced CH4 yield without affecting total CH4 emissions. These findings highlight the importance of considering CH4 emission intensity, in addition to absolute emissions, when evaluating mitigation opportunities in forage-based beef production systems.
publishDate	2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv	2026-07-23T16:06:12Z 2026-07-23T16:06:12Z 2026-06
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv	info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format	article
status_str	publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/27119 https://www.mdpi.com/2674-0389/5/3/19 2674-0389 https://doi.org/10.3390/methane5030019
url	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/27119 https://www.mdpi.com/2674-0389/5/3/19 https://doi.org/10.3390/methane5030019
identifier_str_mv	2674-0389
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv	eng
language	eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv	info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2019-PD-E3-I058-001, Emisiones (GEI) en los sistemas agropecuarios y forestales. Medidas de mitigación
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eu_rights_str_mv	openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv	application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv	MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv	MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv	Methane 5 (3) : 19. (June 2026) reponame:INTA Digital (INTA) instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
reponame_str	INTA Digital (INTA)
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Nitrogen Supplementation Increases Feed Intake and Reduces Methane Yield in Steers Fed Low-Quality Weeping Lovegrass Hay

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