Physical Characteristics, Nutritional Qualities and In vitro Digestibility of Silage From Various Sources of Fiber

Abstract Background and Objective: Forage, as a source of fiber for ruminants, consists of fresh forages (grass and legumes) and agricultural wastes such as corn straw and rice straw. The weaknesses of agricultural wastes are their high crude fiber content and low protein content, which limit their use as ruminant feed. Fermentation technology or silage can be applied to make these agricultural wastes usable. Silage can increase the nutritional value of agricultural wastes, and the silage can be stored for a long time (up to one year) for use as feed during the dry season. This study aimed to compare silages from various sources of fiber, such as elephant grass, native grasses, corn straw, and rice straw. Significance Statement: Corn straw silage has the best physical and nutritional characteristics and the highest in vitro digestibility. Materials and Methods: The study used a completely randomized design (CRD) with four treatments and five replications. The four silage treatments were treatment A = silage with elephant grass as the fiber source, B = silage with native grasses as the fiber source, C = silage with corn straw as the fiber source, and D = silage with rice straw as the fiber source. The silage was made using 10% molasses and 10% pollard as additives. The observed variables were acidity (pH), physical characteristics, chemical characteristics, and in vitro digestibility. Results: The experiment showed that the pH values of silage from elephant grass, native grasses, corn straw, and rice straw ranged from 4.01 – 4.58, which met the criteria for good silage. The physical characteristics, i.e., fungus, texture, color, and odor, met the criteria for good to moderate silage. The highest dry matter and ash contents were observed in treatment D and were significantly different from those in the other treatments. In addition, the highest organic matter and water contents were observed in treatment C and were significantly different from those in the other treatments. The experiment showed that elephant grass silage had the highest in vitro digestibility for dry and organic matter, but there was no significant difference in digestibility between elephant grass silage and corn straw silage, and the highest volatile fatty acid (VFA) and ammonia (NH3) levels were observed in elephant grass silage. Conclusion: Silage with corn straw as the fiber source tends to provide the best results in terms of physical and nutritional characteristics and in vitro digestibility.