Table 2.
Chemical composition and microbial populations of fresh alfalfa.
| Items | CK | LP | MP | HP | SEM | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry matter (g/kg FM) | 304.3 | 312.7 | 319.0 | 305.3 | 0.25 | 0.21 |
| Crude protein (g/kg DM) | 192.3C | 207.8B | 234.3A | 207.0B | 0.11 | 0.19 |
| Soluble protein (g/kg DM) | 66.3C | 72.3B | 103.7A | 68.3BC | 0.08 | <0.05 |
| Neutral detergent fiber(g/kg DM) | 432.0B | 420.3C | 474.3A | 467.7A | 0.12 | <0.05 |
| Acid detergent fiber (g/kg DM) | 353.7C | 348.0D | 386.3A | 381.0B | 0.07 | <0.05 |
| Water-soluble carbohydrate (g/kg DM) | 366.3C | 372.3B | 394.0A | 368.3BC | 0.07 | <0.05 |
| Lactic acid bacteria (Log10 cfu/g FM) | 6.59 | 6.42 | 6.49 | 6.41 | 0.03 | 0.23 |
| Enterobacteriaceae (Log10 cfu/g FM) | 4.41A | 4.21B | 4.30AB | 4.19B | 0.03 | 0.06 |
| Mold (Log10 cfu/g FM) | 5.59 | 5.53 | 5.49 | 5.36 | 0.08 | 0.77 |
| Aerobic bacteria (Log10 cfu/g FM) | 7.31A | 7.03BC | 6.95C | 7.04B | 0.01 | <0.05 |
| Na+ (g/kg DM) | 1.9D | 2.7C | 4.8B | 5.1A | 0.40 | <0.05 |
| K+ (g/kg DM) | 26.7D | 31.2A | 30.9B | 29.4C | 0.53 | <0.05 |
CK, without salt stress; LP, under light salt stress; MP, under moderate salt stress; HP, under severe salt stress; DM, dry matter; FM, Fresh matter; cfu, colony forming unit; SEM, standard error of mean value. The mean values (a–d) of different letters in the same column were significantly different (P < 0.05).