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Re‐ensiling effects on sorghum silage quality, methane emission and sheep efficiency in tropical climate
Author(s) -
Santos Fabiana P. C.,
Oliveira Alan F.,
Souza Fernando A.,
Rodrigues José A. S.,
Gonçalves Lúcio C.,
Silva Ricardo Reis e,
Lana Ângela Maria Q.,
Jayme Diogo G.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/gfs.12538
Subject(s) - silage , dry matter , sorghum , zoology , feed conversion ratio , lactic acid , butyric acid , agronomy , chemistry , biology , food science , body weight , bacteria , genetics , endocrinology
The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether sorghum silage exposure to air for 8, 16 or 24 hr before re‐ensiling reduces silage quality and animal feed efficiency. Sorghum was ensiled in 52 metal drums (13 for each exposure time) with 200‐L capacity, and after 112 days, 39 drums were opened and silage was exposed to air for 8, 16 or 24 hr. Thirteen silos were not opened and considered control treatment. Subsequently, silage was re‐ensiled, and after 56 days, all silos were opened to determine silage quality variables. In addition, the silage was offered to sheep to determine animal feed efficiency. The experimental design was completely randomized with five replications per treatment, and orthogonal polynomials were used to determine linear or quadratic effects of the exposure time. The non‐fibrous carbohydrate (NFC) (minimum of 278 g/kg), in vitro dry‐matter digestibility (IVDMD) (minimum of 570 g/kg) and lactic acid (1.51 g/kg for each hour) decreased with longer exposure. The pH (0.011 for each hour), ammonia nitrogen (0.057 g/kg for each hour), acetic acid (maximum of 17.9 g/kg) and aerobic stability (maximum of 62.4 hr) increased with longer exposure. Although silage exposure reduced NFC and IVDMD and increased pH and ammonia nitrogen, animal feed efficiency was not compromised. These results indicate that sorghum silage exposure for up to 24 hr does not compromise its use.