Abstract
The aim of current experiment was to determine the effect of supplementation of urea on the nutritive value and fermentation characteristics of apple pulp silage. Apple pulp obtained from apple with Granny Smith (Malus domestica) varieties was used in the research. Apple pulp were ensiled in special glass jars with 1.5 L capacity. Urea (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 % on DM basis) was added homogeneously to apple pulp in triplicate. The experimental silos were placed in a room until opening after 45 day of preservation. The glass jars were opened on the 45th day of ensiling to determine chemical composition and silage fermentation parameters. The addition of urea to apple pulp reduced the water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC), content of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) whereas the supplementation of urea significantly(P<0.01) increased crude protein(HP) contents of resultant silages. The addition of urea to apple pulp significantly (P<0.01) increased pH, lactic acid (LA), propionic acid (PA), butyric acid (BA) and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) contents of the resultant silages whereas the supplementation of urea significantly (P<0.01) reduced the acetic acid (AA) contents. Addition of urea to apple pulp increased in vitro gas production, digestible organic matter (DOM), metabolic energy (ME) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and significantly reduced yeast and mold count (P<0.01). The urea supplementation also increased the aerobic stability of the resultant silages. It can be concluded that supplementation of urea to apple pulp at 1.0 and 2.0 % can be recommended to improve the nutritive value and fermentation parameters of the resultant silages.
Highlights
Apple production increased from 2.600.000 tons in 2010 to 3.618.752 tons in 2019 due to an increased demand for apple consumption in Turkey (Anonymous, 2021)
In dry matter (DM), the crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of apple pulp ranges from 19-65 g/kg Carson et al 1994), 300-482 g/kg and 250-420 g/kg, respectively (Wolter et al 1980; Singhal et al 1991)
The apple pulp can be preserved by ensiling (McDonald et al, 1991; Fang et al 2016; Islam et al 2018a), since that contains water soluble carbohydrates which is required by lactic acid bacteria to produce lactic acid which is responsible for the decrease in pH of silage (Afzal et al 2015; Skinner et al 2018)
Summary
Apple production increased from 2.600.000 tons in 2010 to 3.618.752 tons in 2019 due to an increased demand for apple consumption in Turkey (Anonymous, 2021). Apple pulp is used in the feeding of ruminant animals in the form of fresh, dry and silage (Fontenot et al 1977; Alibes et al 1984; Gasa et al 1992; Kennedy et al 1999; Taasoli and Kafilzadeh, 2008; Ajila et al 2015; Islam et al 2018a). Apple pulp has high energy value, its protein content is low (Gasa et al, 1992; Taasoli and Kafilzadeh, 2008). The fact that apple pulp contains low digestible protein is an important factor that limits the nutritive value
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