Effect of Harvest Stage of Sorghum × Sorghum Hybrid (SSH) on the Quality of Round Baled SSH Silage

Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the effects of harvest stage of sorghum × sorghum hybrid (SSH) on nutritive values and quality of round baled SSH silage manufactured with SSH grown in paddy land of Department of Animal Resources Development, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA. SSH "SS405" was harvested at two different growth stages (heading and ripen stage) and ensiled at each harvest stages. Crude protein content of round baled SSH silage increased with delayed harvest maturity, but contents of ADF (acid detergent fiber), NDF (neutral detergent fiber), TDN (total digestible nutrient) and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) was not changed. The pH in round baled SSH silage ranged from 3.8 to 4.4 at two different harvest stages, and pH in heading stage was higher than that of ripen stage. The content of lactic acid of round baled SSH silage increased with delayed harvest maturity (P<0.05), but the content of acetic acid decreased (P<0.05). The contents of lactic acid and acetic acid in ripen stage were not influenced by manufacture method of silage. The content of acetic acid in round baled SSH silage of heading stage increased as compared to that of trench SSH silage (P<0.05). Therefore, this study suggest that round baled SSH silage manufactured in both heading and ripen stage can improve the silage fermentation.