Elephant grass clones for silage production

Rerisson José Cipriano Dos Santos,Adriana Guim,Mário De Andrade Lira,Mércia Virgínia Ferreira Dos Santos,Alexandre Carneiro De Leão De Mello,José Carlos Batista Dubeux Junior

doi:10.1590/s0103-90162013000100002

Rerisson José Cipriano Dos Santos, Adriana Guim + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s0103-90162013000100002

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Abstract

Ensiling warm-season grasses often requires wilting due to their high moisture content, and the presence of low-soluble sugars in these grasses usually demands the use of additives during the ensiling process. This study evaluated the bromatological composition of the fodder and silage from five Pennisetum sp. clones (IPA HV 241, IPA/UFRPE Taiwan A-146 2.114, IPA/UFRPE Taiwan A-146 2.37, Elephant B, and Mott). The contents of 20 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) silos, which were opened after 90 days of storage, were used for the bromatological analysis and the evaluation of the pH, nitrogen, ammonia, buffer capacity, soluble carbohydrates, and fermentation coefficients. The effluent losses, gases and dry matter recovery were also calculated. Although differences were observed among the clones (p < 0.05) for the concentrations of dry matter, insoluble nitrogen in acid detergents, insoluble nitrogen in neutral detergents, soluble carbohydrates, fermentation coefficients, and in vitro digestibility in the forage before ensiling, no differences were observed for most of these variables after ensiling. All of the clones were efficient in the fermentation process. The IPA/UFRPE TAIWAN A-146 2.37 clone, however, presented a higher dry matter concentration and the best fermentation coefficient, resulting in a better silage quality, compared to the other clones.

Highlights

Brazil has a great potential for in-pasture beef and dairy cattle production due to its large land area and favorable climatic conditions, yet, one of the characteristics of tropical forage is a high production per unit area but a reduced nutritive value (Rodrigues et al, 2004; Melo et al, 2005).Silage production is a viable option to obtain forage during periods of reduced forage growth and quality
This study evaluated the bromatological composition of the fodder and silage from five Pennisetum sp. clones (IPA HV 241, IPA/UFRPE Taiwan A-146 2.114, IPA/UFRPE Taiwan A-146 2.37, Elephant B, and Mott)
The contents of 20 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) silos, which were opened after 90 days of storage, were used for the bromatological analysis and the evaluation of the pH, nitrogen, ammonia, buffer capacity, soluble carbohydrates, and fermentation coefficients

Summary

Introduction

Brazil has a great potential for in-pasture beef and dairy cattle production due to its large land area and favorable climatic conditions, yet, one of the characteristics of tropical forage is a high production per unit area but a reduced nutritive value (Rodrigues et al, 2004; Melo et al, 2005). Silage production is a viable option to obtain forage during periods of reduced forage growth and quality. The use of tropical forage, such as elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.), may be a viable alternative for silage production because it has a high productivity and animal acceptance. Fermentation process is difficult, resulting in poor quality silage (Rodrigues et al, 2005) Ensiling practices such as wilting and use of additives to increase dry matter concentration may be used to improve the fermentation process and silage quality of warm-season grasses (Teixeira et al, 2008). Production costs must be kept low in order to make additive use a viable option. Based on these aspects, Silva et al (2008) stated that the selection of Pennisetum sp. The current study evaluated the bromatological composition of forage and silage using five Pennisetum sp. clones in the ‘Zona da Mata Seca’ region of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil

Materials and Methods

Results and Discussion

Conclusions