Piloting locally made microsilos to monitor the silage fermentation quality of conserved forage in Rwanda

Abstract

A good understanding of essential silage processes is key to success and large adoption by local farmers. This study aimed to test the use of a locally constructed micro silo mechanism with identified suitable forage species as an affordable quality check to evaluate the silage fermentation stages and effect on silage nutrient composition in the semiarid eastern part of Rwanda. Forage samples were filled in duplicate, considering 2 blocks (stations), resulting in 4 silage treatments * 3 repetitions, for a total of 24 microsilos. The treatments included the following steps: 1) two mono-grass (Brachiaria Mulato/Panicum coloratum) treatments and two grass*legume mixtures (Brachiaria Mulato*Desmodium distortum; Panicum coloratum* Desmodium distortum). Silage fermentation was monitored for 6 weeks, and the following quality parameters were measured: dry matter (DM, %), pH, ammonia-nitrogen and crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF). Quantitative data were statistically analyzed with 95% CIs. The results indicated a consistent decrease in DM (%) due to fermentation losses. At silage maturity (D48), the average ammonia content [NH4+ -N (%)], CP and NDF were 0.08 ± 0.05%, 10.02 ± 2.61%, 62.92 ± 7.82 and 37.72 ± 5.78, respectively. As suggested in the results, silages made of 100% grasses had relatively higher NDF, ADF, pH, and DM levels, suggesting that the mixture of grasses and legumes had better fermentation characteristics than did the mono-grass silages. The use of microsilos for monitoring silage fermentation showed high consistency, yielding replicable quality-fermentation parameters.