Digestibility, fermentation and microbiological characteristics of Calotropis procera silage with different quantities of grape pomace

Abstract

ABSTRACT Preserving forage plants adapted to a semi-arid climate as silage may minimize the animal feed deficit during drought. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different quantities of grape pomace added to Calotropis procera silage on its fermentation, in vitro digestibility, total digestible nutrients and microbiology. A completely randomized experimental design was used with four treatments (0, 10, 20 and 40% fresh matter) and four replicates. The silos were opened after 90 days of ensilage, and the soluble carbohydrate, ethanol, organic acid and ammoniacal nitrogen concentrations; pH; fermentation loss; dry matter (DM) recovery; DM density, and microbial populations were determined. The pH (3.96-3.87) was adequate for ensiling in all silage samples. The soluble carbohydrate concentration decreased (p<0.05), and the ethanol concentration increased with increasing quantities of grape pomace. The lactic acid concentration decreased (p<0.05) from 5.3 to 1.94% DM, and the acetic, propionic and butyric acid concentrations increased with increasing quantities of grape pomace. The lactic acid bacteria decreased linearly (p <0.05), varying from 6.43 to 5.82 log CFU/g silage. The mold and yeast population variations fit best using a third-order polynomial equation (p <0.05). Enterobacteria and Clostridium spp were not observed. Adding grape pomace to the silage increased the effluent and gas loss; the latter varied from 5.35 to 14.4%. The total digestible nutrient (TDN) variation fit best using a second-order polynomial equation, and the maximum value was estimated at 82.95% DM with 3.5% grape pomace using the regression equation. The percent digestibility decreased linearly (p<0.05) with increasing quantities of grape pomace. We show that Calotropis procera has potential as silage even without adding grape pomace.