Sorghum silage quality as determined by chemical–nutritional factors

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an ensilable tropical plant known as a good alternative to maize crops in regions with scarce rainfall. The objective of this trial was to obtain prediction models based on nutritional contents and end products of sorghum silage fermentation as related to the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Grass and forage science 2020-12, Vol.75 (4), p.462-473
Main Authors: Rodrigues, Paulo Henrique Mazza, Pinedo, Lerner Arévalo, Meyer, Paula Marques, Silva, Thiago Henrique, Guimarães, Iuli Caetano da Silva Brandão
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Buckets
Carbohydrates
Cereal crops
Chemical composition
conservation
Cultivars
Digestibility
Dry matter
ensiling
Ethanol
Fermentation
fresh sorghum
Hemicellulose
Lactic acid
Mathematical models
Prediction models
Rainfall
Silage
Sorghum
Sorghum silage
Statistical analysis
Statistical models
Tropical plants
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Summary:Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an ensilable tropical plant known as a good alternative to maize crops in regions with scarce rainfall. The objective of this trial was to obtain prediction models based on nutritional contents and end products of sorghum silage fermentation as related to the dry‐matter composition of fresh plants before ensiling. Eleven different sorghum cultivars (including silage, graniferous and sweet types) were used. Twenty‐five sorghum plots were harvested between 80 and 120 days of growth. Fifty plastic buckets were used as experimental microsilos and opened between 60 and 90 days of storage. Statistical modelling was used to create a prediction equation that could explain the impact of fresh sorghum composition on the chemical and nutritional composition of its silage. A complex model was detected by stepwise multiple regression to predict the difference of in vitro dry‐matter digestibility (IVDMD) before and after ensiling, but a simpler model, which involved only the sum of water‐soluble carbohydrate (fWSC) and hemicellulose (fHemi) concentrations in the dry matter of fresh forage, was considered to more usable. It had an acceptable coefficient of determination (0.51). The higher amount of WSC and Hemi in fresh sorghum linearly decreased the difference between IVDMD before and after the ensiling process. A WSC concentration of 125.4 g/kg DM in fresh sorghum is recommended for an ideal silage fermentation when considering pH and lactic acid levels, although ethanol levels continued to increase.
ISSN:0142-5242
1365-2494
DOI:10.1111/gfs.12495