Plant maturity, particularly as it affects leaf to stem ratio, will also affect the concentrations of plant sugars found in many forage grasses. Cool season grasses store sugars as fructans, which are water soluble carbohydrates that tend to collect in the stems. Back To Top Toxic Compounds Plants produce a number of compounds that are toxic to livestock. In Arkansas, the toxic effects of the ergot alkaloids produced by the symbiotic association of the fungal endophyte Neotyphodium coenophialum with tall fescue are widely known. Unfortunately, these compounds are relatively stable in the acidic environment created by the fermentative process.
Nitrates can accumulate in some forage plants under unfavorable growing conditions.
This potential is maximized when crops such as corn, sorghum and other grasses are heavily fertilized with nitrogen and then suffer various stresses during growth that may include hail, drought, frost, cloudy weather or soil fertility imbalances. Normally, nitrates accumulate in the lower portions of these plants. When droughty conditions are followed by a rain, producers should wait about three days before harvesting. High-nitrate forages can also produce lethal gases in the silo during the fermentation process. Generally, the fermentation process converts about 50 percent of forage nitrate to other nontoxic forms.