Silage quality when Moringa oleifera is ensiled in mixtures with Elephant grass, sugar cane and molasses

Fourteen different silages were prepared using mixtures of Moringa (Moringa oleifera), Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum cv Taiwan) or sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum). Molasses from sugar cane was used in the amounts of either 10 or 50 g kg⁻¹ fresh matter (FM) in treatments without sugar cane....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Grass and forage science 2009-12, Vol.64 (4), p.364-373
Main Authors: Mendieta-Araica, B, Spörndly, E, Reyes-Sánchez, N, Norell, L, Spörndly, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and Dairy Science
Elephant grass
ensiling
Husdjursvetenskap
Moringa oleifera
Pennisetum purpureum
silage making
spoilage
sugar cane
sugarcane
tropical feedstuffs
Veterinary Science
Veterinärmedicin
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Summary:Fourteen different silages were prepared using mixtures of Moringa (Moringa oleifera), Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum cv Taiwan) or sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum). Molasses from sugar cane was used in the amounts of either 10 or 50 g kg⁻¹ fresh matter (FM) in treatments without sugar cane. A completely randomized design with three replicates of each treatment was used. The silages were prepared in 1800 mL micro silos and opened after 120 d. The presence of Moringa and Elephant grass in the silage changed the pH by -0·8 and +0·7, respectively (P < 0·001), indicating a favourable effect of Moringa on silage pH. Overall differences were found among treatments for dry matter content, crude protein and acetic acid concentrations, weight loss, CO₂ production and silage pH after spoilage (P < 0·001). Weight loss was proportionately 0·034 and 0·014 in silages with and without sugar cane respectively (P < 0·001). Overall, differences (P < 0·05) were also found for neutral-detergent fibre and lactic acid concentrations, lactic acid bacteria counts, clostridial counts and time to spoilage of the silages. Treatments containing Moringa had higher lactic acid concentrations (+16 g kg⁻¹ DM; P < 0·01) compared to treatments without but the presence of Moringa decreased time to spoilage by 67 h (P < 0·05). No differences were found in propionic acid concentration or fungal growth of the silages. It is concluded that Moringa can be used as a component of high quality silages which also contain high concentrations of crude protein.
ISSN:0142-5242
1365-2494
1365-2494
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2494.2009.00701.x