Determination of Physical and Nutritional Quality of Silages Prepared from Different Species of Fodder

Livestock production is often limited by the availability of high-quality forage, either through grazing or cultivated fodder. Most fodder and grass are grown seasonally and are particularly scarce during the dry season. Silage making is a good technology for fodder conservation that can ensure green pasture for livestock throughout the year. Hence, a study was carried out to observe the efficiency of small-scale silage production using simple low-cost technology and to ascertain the nutritional value of the silage. Cultivation of fodder species and preparation of silage are carried out in the field laboratory of Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University.  The fodder for making silage was cut into 2 to 3 cm pieces, packed in plastic bags, carefully sealed and stored in drums with adequate sealing for 45 to 60 days. Three fodder species viz. Oat (Avena sativa), maize (Zea mays) and jumbo (Sorghum bicolour Sorghum sudanefe) were selected for silage preparation. Three replicates were maintained for each species. Prepared silages were opened and samples were collected for evaluation of physical and chemical properties. To determine the physical characteristics, color, aroma, texture and presence/absence of fungi were examined. Chemical analysis was performed in the animal Husbandry Laboratory, Khulna University following the procedure of AOAC (2003). Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS (version 22) computer program. From the study of physical properties of silage, it was found that color, odor and texture were acceptable in all the samples and no fungus was observed in any of the samples. Chemical analysis showed that the highest dry matter (DM) content (g/100g) was observed in jumbo silage (22.72±0.88) and the lowest in maize silage (13.64±0.69) (p<0.001). The highest (p<0.001) crude protein (CP) content (g/100g) was observed in jumbo silage (15.49±1.05) and the lowest in maize silage (8.78±1.15). Crude fiber content (g/100g) was found to be highest in oat silage (34.11±1.59) and lowest in maize silage (31.68±1.40). Ether extract content (g/100g) was found to be highest in oat silage (4.60±1.25) followed by jumbo silage (1.99±0.08) and maize silage (1.22±0.41) (p<0.01). It can be concluded that by making silage using local knowledge and low-cost inputs, forage can be better preserved. Among the silages prepared from the three forage species, jumbo silage was found to have better nutritional value in terms of DM and CP content.

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