Authors : A. Lukkananukool, P. Paengkoum, S. Bureenok, S. Paengkoum, C. Yuangklang and Y. Kawamoto
Abstract: The current experiments was carried out to investigate the chemical composition and fermentation of silage for 2 species of tropical forage (Mulato II grass; Bracharia ruziziensis x B. brizantha x B. decumbens and Verano stylo; Stylosanthes hamata), havested at 45 days after regrowth. There were combined with 4 additive treatments (cassava meal 5%, molasses 2% and the Fermented Juice of epiphytic Lactic acid Bacteria (FJLB) 1% in a factorial arrangement in Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Sealed plastic bag and each treatment were replicated five times. Silage quality was affected by both species and additive treatments. The DM content of Verano stylo silage (31.26-33.60%) had higher (p≤0.001) than Mulato II grass silage (20.77-22.23%). The Mulato II grass added with molasses and cassava meal resulted in lower (p≤0.05) pH (3.30 and 4.01) and higher (p≤0.001) lactic acid content (81.12 and 102.03 g kg-1 DM), compared to the control and FJLB treatments (4.22 and 4.28, 48.34 and 52.36 g kg-1 DM, respectively). For Verano stylo silage, the control had higher pH value than cassava, molasses and FJLB additive (5.06, 4.81, 4.46 and 4.49, respectively) while there was no significant (p>0.05) difference for lactic acid content (34.33, 41.08, 48.89 and 48.04, respectively). There was highest acetic and propionic acid contents for the Mulato II grass added with FJLB whereas acetic and propionic acid content of the Verano stylo added with FJLB had highest among other two additives but lower than the control group. For the practical relevance of this research, it can be concluded that addition of FJLB would improve silages quality of Mulato II by increase preserving properties, although a little effect found for lactic acid content.
A. Lukkananukool, P. Paengkoum, S. Bureenok, S. Paengkoum, C. Yuangklang and Y. Kawamoto, 2013. Effect of Forage Species and Additives on Quality of Tropical Forage Silage. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 12: 153-159.