Table 1.
Chemical composition and microbial populations contents of sudangrass before ensiling
| Items | Treatment | SEM | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
| Fresh | Wilted | |||
| Dry matter (g/kg FM) | 210 | 305 | 21.4 | <0.001 |
| Water soluble carbohydrate (g/kg DM) | 87.7 | 52.2 | 8.01 | <0.001 |
| Crude protein (g/kg DM) | 134 | 115 | 5.37 | 0.077 |
| Neutral detergent fibre (g/kg DM) | 647 | 631 | 4.76 | 0.095 |
| Acid detergent fibre (g/kg DM) | 344 | 370 | 6.13 | 0.006 |
| Ether extract (g/kg DM) | 29.4 | 29.3 | 0.34 | 0.901 |
| Ash (g/kg DM) | 60.4 | 72.1 | 2.62 | <0.001 |
| NFC1) (g/kg DM) | 129 | 152 | 6.46 | 0.065 |
| Buffering capacity (mEq/kg DM) | 249 | 162 | 20.5 | 0.004 |
| Fermentation coefficient2) | 19 | 24 | 0.01 | 0.001 |
| pH | 5.37 | 5.17 | 0.06 | 0.071 |
| Lactic acid bacteria (log10 CFU/g FM) | 4.67 | 3.62 | 0.24 | <0.001 |
| Aerobic bacteria (log10 CFU/g FM) | 4.87 | 4.75 | 0.05 | 0.315 |
| Yeasts (log10 CFU/g FM) | 3.26 | 2.90 | 0.08 | 0.002 |
| Moulds (log10 CFU/g FM) | 6.14 | 5.78 | 0.09 | 0.008 |
SEM, standard error of the mean; FM, fresh matter; DM, dry matter; NFC, non-fibrous carbohydrate; mEq, milligram equivalent; CFU, colony-forming units.
1)
NFC = 100–CP–NDF–EE–ash.
2)
Fermentation coefficient = DM (%) + 8 WSC/BC.