Cassava meal in the elephant grass silage: carbohydrate and protein fractioning and fermentation characteristics of silage elephant grass

Abstract

The objective of this work was to determine the fractions that compose the carbohydrates (CHO) and proteins and fermentative characteristics of elephant grass silage without or with wilting and added of cassava meal. The 4 x 2 factorial scheme was adopted, with four repetitions, in a completely randomized design. The factors evaluated were wilting (without and with) and cassava meal levels (0; 7.5; 15 and 22.5 % DN). PVC silos with 50cm height and 10cm diameter were used for silages production. A+B1 and B2 CHO fractions and B3 and C nitrogen fractions of silages were influenced by association of wilting with cassava meal levels, the wilting and the cassava meal inclusion had no effect on A and B1+B2 nitrogen fractions. The cassava meal addiction linearly reduced the CHO C fraction. Relative to variables inherent to silages’ fermentative characteristics, pH presented quadratic behavior. Ammonia nitrogen, presented quadratic and decreasing linear behavior for silages without and with wilting, respectively. The use of cassava meal reduces the B2 and unavailable carbohydrates fraction. The main protein fractions of the silages studied are A and B1 + B2 fractions. Wilting and the addition of cassava meal improved the nutritive value and fermentation characteristics of the silages studied.