The Effects of Some Silage Additives in Sorghum Silage on the Silage Quality and Ruminal Degradabilities of Nutrients I - The Effects on Silage Quality

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of different silage additives on the silage quality of sorghum silage. Different sorghum silages were prepared from sorghum harvested at the milk or dough stage (287.40 and 304.80 g/kg DM) with or without SIL-ALL (enzyme-inoculant complex; EI), molasses (M), formic acid (FA), M + FA, El + FA, El + M and El + FA + M additives in laboratory silos (glass jar 1 kg in volume) and incubated for two months. After incubation, the silos were opened and chemical and physical analyses were done. The dry matter contents of silages with additives harvested at the milk or dough stages were different. However, while the addition of molasses generally increased the DM concentration, it decreased the concentrations of NDF and ADF. Addition of formic acid alone, El + FA, M + FA, and El + FA + M significantly increased (p < 0.01) the pH of silages (4.17, 4.31; 4.06, 4.27; 4.20, 4.31; 4.07, 4.29; respectively) at stages I and II. All additives, except molasses, significantly decreased (p < 0.01) the lactic acid concentration of silage when compared with the control at stages I and II. Differences in acetic acid concentrations were observed among silages at both stages; molasses addition increased the acetic acid concentration, especially at stage II. Butiric acid was not determined in any group at either stage. It was concluded that the addition of molasses to sorghum silage prepared from sorghum harvested at the milk stage increased the fermentation quality. However, high quality sorghum silage can be achieved without any additives from sorghum harvested at the milk or dough stage.