Use of fresh sugar cane as water soluble carbohydrate additive for tropical grass silage making

Abstract

The experiment was conducted at Sokoine University of Agriculture from June 1997 to December 1997. The forages were cut at vegetative stage of growth and ensiled for 45 days. The additives tested were mixed with chopped forage material before ensiling. Dry matter contents were significantly (P<0.05) different between treatments in guatemala silage and percentage DM loss ranged from 16.1 in T5 to 39.1 in untreated silage (T1). In napier silage the DM loss was highest (32.9 %) in T2 and lowest (13.7 %) in T3. Both napier and guatemala silages showed significant (P<0.05) difference between treatments in terms of in-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and water soluble carbohydrates. In napier silage, treatments with low level of ADF and high CP showed low IVDMD while treatments with high level of ADF and low CP showed low IVDMD. Increase in levels of Fresh Sugar Cane (FSC) resulted in increase of levels of lactic acid in both napier and guatemala silages. Butyric acid was detected in guatemala silage and not in napier silage.