Silage Quality, Nutrient Content and Relative Feed Value of Urea and Molasses Added Sweet Maize [Zea mays (L.) saccharata Sturt.] Silage

Abstract

Background: This study was carried out to determine silage quality, nutrient content, relative feed value (RFV), fermentation parameters and Fleig scores of sweet maize [Zea mays (L.) saccharata Sturt.] without the cob ensiled with urea or molasses. Methods: Plant parts remaining from the sweet maize whose cobs were harvested were ensiled with the addition of 1% urea and 5-10% molasses. In the liquid samples collected from the silages, pH values, ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations were measured and the silage samples were subjected to crude nutrient analyses, RFV and Fleig score determination. Result: Significant differences were found among the groups in terms of their dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude ash (CA), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) values. The difference between silage groups was significant in terms of NH3 and VFA values. In the analyses of Fleig scores, physical parameters and RFV results, the groups were found significantly different except for Fleig scores. In parallel with the increase in the concentration of urea used in the silage groups, there were reductions in Fleig scores, physical parameters and RFV values, while their CP levels increased. The molasses that was added to the silages led to a reduction in their silage pH, NH3-N and butyric acid (BA) values and an increase in their lactic acid (LA) values. It was concluded that the additives used in this study contributed positively to the quality of the silages, all silages with additives were quality silages and they could be used as an alternative quality roughage resource in feeding ruminants.