Effects of whey, molasses and exogenous enzymes on the ensiling characteristics, nutrient composition and aerobic stability of maize cobs

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the effects of whey, molasses and exogenous enzymes on fermentation, aerobic stability and nutrient composition of ensiled maize cobs. Five treatments were ensiled in 1.5 L anaerobic glass jars over 32 days, namely i) control (maize cobs without additives (CON); ii) maize cobs with sugarcane molasses only (MOL); iii) MOL and whey (MOW); iv) MOW and exogenous enzyme at 0.5 g/kg maize cob mixture (ENZ1) and v) MOW and exogenous enzyme at 1 g/kg maize cob mixture (ENZ2). There was a day effect on gross energy (GE) for CON, MOL, ENZ1 and ENZ2 and none for MOW. There was a day effect in ADF for MOL, ENZ1 and ENZ2 and none for CON and MOW. There was lower dry matter (DM) on day 32 compared with day 0 for all treatments. There were treatment effects for GE, crude protein (CP), ash, ether extract, amylase-treated neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre (ADF). On day 32, the neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and ADF concentrations in CON were higher than in MOL, MOW and ENZ2. At day 32, CON silage pH (4.2) was lower than the pH values of ENZ1 (4.5) and ENZ2 (4.6) silages. Acetic acid levels were higher in ENZ1 than ENZ2 silages. Ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N) levels averaged 25 ± 6.6 g NH 3 -N/kg total nitrogen, which is indicative of satisfactory ensiling. The MOL, ENZ1 and ENZ2 silages produced more carbon dioxide than CON and MOW silages. The addition of molasses and whey did not improve the nutritive quality of the maize cobs after ensiling. Ensiling maize cobs with molasses, whey and exogenous enzymes resulted in lower DM and fibre levels in the maize cobs, which could enhance intake and digestibility of nutrients when offered to pigs as a component of a balanced diet. Further investigations using higher concentrations of whey and molasses are warranted to improve the energy and protein composition of the maize cobs. ______________________________________________________________________________________

Evaluation of Fodder Production and Nutritional Composition of Fresh and Ensiled African Tall Maize (Zea mays L.) Grown under Various Types and Levels of Fertilization

“…Darby and Lauer (2002) reported a decrease in NDF content after ensiling, which is also similar to the report in this study. The increase in ADF content after fermentation is in contrast with the report of Kanengoni et al (2016) who reported that ensiling had reduced ADF content. The values obtained in this study in CP, TA, ADF and NDF contents were similar to the values obtained by Ballard et al (2001).…”

“…It occupies a prominent position among the bulky organic manures available in India with a potential supply of 13.39 mt of N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O per annum, besides improving the soil properties (Manna and Ganguly, 2003). The conjoint use of organic manures and chemical fertilizers (Xianjin et al, 2021, Lukiwati et al, 2018, Kanengoni et al, 2016 can help in enhancing and maintaining stability in production with least degradation in chemical and physical properties of soil. Supplementing N through organic sources plays a vital role in increasing the yield of any crop.…”

Potentials of Bio Fermented Rice Husk Meal as a Replacement to Brewer’s Dried Grain in Finisher Broiler’s Diet

“…The crude protein level of the biofermented rice husk in the present research did not improve contrary to the expectation that addition of molasses which contain up to 44 g CP/kg DM (Xande et al, 2010) will rather improve the crude protein of the rice husk. A similar result was reported in the work of Kanengoni et al (2016). However, biofermentation treatment was able to reduce crude fiber from 59.20% which was the value of crude fiber in untreated rice husk to 37.34% crude fiber for biofermented rice husk.…”

Effect of Addition of Different Levels of Molasses and Liquid Whey on Fermentation Characteristics of Date Palm Phoenix Dactylifera Leaves Silage and Its Nutritive Value

“…However, Kanengoni,et. al.,(18) demonstrated that AS of the maize cobs deteriorated with the addition of molasses and enzymes with whey. Regarding effect of LW levels, results showed that higher (P<0.01) AS was observed in samples of DPL silages prepared with addition of LW at level of 1.5% as compared with those prepared without and with addition of LW at level of 1%.…”

“…Similar results were obtained by Kanengoni,et. al.,(18) as a result of ensiling maize cobs and mango leaves with LW respectively. However, no effect was observed by Nkosi,et.…”