Abstract
The elephant grass presents problems during the fermentation of the ensiled material, being necessary use of additives. This study aimed to evaluate the population of yeast and filamentous fungi, enterobacterias, contents of acetic and butyric acids and ethanol production, in elephant grass silages added with different levels of macaúba cake at opening times. This was a 3 x 6 factorial completely randomized experimental design, with three inclusion levels of the macaúba cake (0, 10 and 20%) and six opening times (1, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 days after ensiling), with four replications. For all the studied variables, there was a difference in the interaction among levels and times, and an increasing linear behavior only for the contents of acetic acid, for the other variables, the behavior was quadratic. The elephant grass silages produced acetic acid, which in turn inhibited the production of yeast and filamentous fungi. There was a small development of enterobacterias only in the first opening times, and low production of butyric acid and ethanol, which indicated a material with good fermentative characteristics. The macaúba cake contributed to improve the anaerobic fermentation process, but it was not as expressive for the parameters evaluated in this work.
Highlights
Tropical forages show pronounced seasonality, which determines an uneven distribution in production during the year, with surplus of forage in the rainy season and lack in the dry season, impairing animal performance (Ferreira et al, 2014; Reis, Ruggieri, Casagrande, & Páscoa, 2009)
Considering the importance of knowing the potential of macaúba cake added when ensiling elephant grass, and the lack of studies on this biodiesel coproduct in animal feed, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different levels of inclusion of macaúba cake, in different opening times, in days, in elephant grass ensiling on the population of yeast and filamentous fungi, enterobacteria, contents of acetic and butyric acids and ethanol production
As for the microbial population, there was an effect on the enterobacterias (Entero) and filamentous fungi (FF), which were affected by the opening times and by the interaction levels x times
Summary
Tropical forages show pronounced seasonality, which determines an uneven distribution in production during the year, with surplus of forage in the rainy season and lack in the dry season, impairing animal performance (Ferreira et al, 2014; Reis, Ruggieri, Casagrande, & Páscoa, 2009). Elephant grass has been widely used in ensiling processes because it can have great yield potential and reasonable amounts of soluble carbohydrates (Rêgo, Cândido, Pereira, Feitosa, & Rêgo, 2010). This forage has a high moisture content at the time of cutting to obtain silage, which can lead to undesirable fermentation, compromising the quality of the ensiled material (Cardoso et al, 2016). It is necessary to use a technique to raise the dry matter content, an alternative is the technique of wilting with less expense; the use of additives with the intention of improving their fermentation attributes and reducing the moisture, can raise nutrient contents, making it possible to guarantee a production of quality silage (Oliveira et al, 2012; Rezende et al, 2008). Biodiesel co-products are promising for use in animal feed and can be added in the silage process, since they can add nutritional value to the final product and reduce the costs of producing both biodiesel and feed to be supplied to the animal (Abdalla, Silva Filho, Godoi, Carmo, & Eduardo, 2008)
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