Table 5.
Mean results for the intermediate-ergovaline dosage trial (Exp. 3) on DMI, water intake, serum prolactin, and rumen motility contraction variables measured for 21 d in E− and E+ tall fescue seed-treated steers
| Treatment | P-value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | E− 1 | E+ 2 | SEM3 | Seed | Day | Seed × day |
| DMI, kg | 8.11 | 8.09 | 0.268 | 0.967 | <0.001 | 0.999 |
| 24-h water intake, L | 42.58 | 41.61 | 1.961 | 0.729 | 0.371 | 0.984 |
| Water intake (0800 to 1000 h), L | 8.29 | 3.32 | 1.024 | 0.001 | 0.731 | 0.183 |
| Water intake (1000 to 1800 h), L | 32.31 | 22.20 | 1.609 | <0.001 | 0.250 | 0.494 |
| Serum prolactin, ng/mL | 107.80 | 29.05 | 20.212 | 0.011 | 0.008 | 0.549 |
| Rumen content, kg | 51.72 | 56.97 | 5.032 | 0.489 | — | — |
| Rumen content, DM % | 14.87 | 15.07 | 0.659 | 0.837 | — | — |
| Rumen DM content, kg | 7.67 | 8.57 | 0.712 | 0.409 | — | — |
| Rumen wet content, kg | 44.07 | 48.40 | 4.417 | 0.515 | — | — |
| g Rumen content DM per kg BW | 12.47 | 14.20 | 1.058 | 0.293 | — | — |
| g rumen content DM per kg DMI | 762.52 | 837.75 | 73.682 | 0.498 | — | — |
| Peak, mm Hg | 23.82 | 25.74 | 0.413 | 0.015 | 0.001 | 0.131 |
| Amplitude, mm Hg | 7.35 | 6.82 | 0.116 | <0.001 | 0.002 | 0.048 |
| Frequency, contractions/min | 1.04 | 1.22 | 0.017 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.001 |
| Durations, s | 22.86 | 23.46 | 0.127 | <0.001 | 0.001 | 0.276 |
1E−, endophyte-free tall fescue seed.
2E+, endophyte-infected tall fescue seed; 15 µg ERV/kg BW/d.
3SEM, standard error of the mean, n = 4 steers/treatment.