Abstract
The study was conducted to evaluate the microbial dynamics during silage of maize stover and banana pseudostem in the environmental conditions of southern Ethiopia. To meet this objective, microsilos containing either maize stover or banana pseudostem, both with and without molasses, were prepared. Subsequently, samples were analysed on day 0, 7, 14, 30, 60 and 90 of the fermentation process. As a result, on day 7, all treatments except banana pseudostem without molasses showed a significant reduction in pH. It was also this silage type that supported the growth of Enterobacteriaceae longer than three other silage types, i.e. until 30days. The yeasts and moulds and the Clostridum endospore counts also showed a reducing trend in early fermentation and afterwards remained constant until day 90. Illumina MiSeq sequencing revealed that Leuconostoc, Buttiauxella species and Enterobacteriaceae were the most abundant bacteria in the initial phases of the fermentation. Later on, Buttiauxella, Lactobacillus, Weissella and Bifidobacterium species were found to be dominant. In conclusion, silage of the two crop by-products is possible under South Ethiopian conditions. For banana pseudostem, the addition of molasses is crucial for a fast fermentation, in contrast to maize. Upscaling needs to be investigated for the two by-products.
Highlights
Tropical countries typically suffer from seasonal variations of available feed, both in quantity and quality (Salo, 2017)
The aim of this study was to evaluate the microbiological aspects of maize stover and banana pseudostem while ensiling under the environmental conditions prevailing in South Ethiopia, as a first step in judging the feasibility of the process to contribute to feed security
According to Romero et al (2015), the silage evaluated in this study can be classified as low moisture silage having 54–64% dry matter (DM) content
Summary
Tropical countries typically suffer from seasonal variations of available feed, both in quantity and quality (Salo, 2017). A better use of locally available feed sources, which cannot be applied as human foods, is getting more and more attention (Moselhy et al, 2015). In this regard, preservation of agricultural by-products, such as banana pseudostem and maize stover, may contribute to secure livestock feed. About 69% (Æ 37 thousand ha) of the Ethiopian land coverage for banana production is situated in the southern and south-western parts of the country, accounting for 77.53% (Æ 370 thousand tonnes) of the Ethiopian annual fresh banana production by 22.38% (Æ 1.5 million) of the banana producers (Alemu, 2017). The Gamo Gofa Zone is known as a maize growing belt of the southern region covering about 51 442 ha of land and producing 189 655 tons of maize per annum (CSA, 2016)
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