Comparison of Chemical Composition and Quality of Maize, Sorghum and Hybrid Napier Grass CO-3 Silages Using Bag or Bucket Silos

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of bag and bucket silos on the chemical composition and quality characteristics of silage made from maize, sorghum, and Coimbatore-3 (CO-3) grass cultivated in the eastern province of Sri Lanka. Each fodder was harvested at 50% of the flowering stage, chopped, and ensiled into the aforementioned silo types. After 30 days, sensory parameters, chemical, and fermentation characteristics of silage such as pH, lactic acid (LA), dry matter content (DM), ash, crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF) ether extract (EE), water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC), and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) were measured. The results revealed that the texture of sorghum and maize was better than CO-3 grass and all silages were free from molds. Silo type had a non-significant (p<0.05) effect on the color and texture of the silage of three forage cultivars. The bag silo had the better sensory characteristic compared with the bucket silo for each fodder. The DM and the CF content of silage were significantly (P< 0.05) higher in the bag silo. The lowest LA and the highest pH content were observed in CO-3 silage compared to sorghum and maize in both silos. The highest WSC% of maize (4.86%, 3.67%), sorghum (4.29%, 3.18%), and CO-3 (2.22%, 2.21%) silages were observed in bag silo followed by bucket silo respectively. The present research revealed that both physical and chemical properties of silages made out of bag silo were better in quality than bucket silo and the silage produced from the bag recommended feeding ruminants as it contains a higher livestock nutritional value.