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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2014, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (3): 248-254.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb20140329

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of molasses addition on the fermentation quality of broccoli residue, rice straw and alfalfa mixed silage

WANG Jian1,2,WANG Ya-qin3,WEN Ai-you1,SHAO Tao1   

  1. 1.College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China;
    2.College of Agriculture, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China;
    3.Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau of Ningbo City, Ningbo 315102, China
  • Received:2013-04-12 Online:2014-06-20 Published:2014-06-20

Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding molasses on the fermentation of rice straw, alfalfa and broccoli residues mixture silage. The three treatments were: no molasses (control), and addition of 2.5% or 5.0% molasses (on a fresh weight basis). The silos were opened on 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 30 days after ensiling and the silage fermentation quality was evaluated. The pH of the control decreased slowly but after the first 14 days of post-ensiling, had significantly (P<0.05) increased to 4.96 by day 30. The pH under molasses addition decreased significantly (P<0.05) from 3 days of ensiling and was below 4.0 at the end of ensilage. The content of lactic acid in all treatments reached the highest value (50.82,84.84,86.64 g/kg DM, respectively) on day 14. The contents of acetic acid and volatile fatty acids in all treatments continuously increased until the end of the experiment. Propionic and butyric acids in all treatments were absent or detected in small amounts only during the ensiling period. Molasses addition significantly (P<0.05) increased the ratios of lactic acid/acetic acid and also the contents of lactic acid, but significantly (P<0.05) decreased pH, NH3-N/TN and butyric content compared with the control. There were no significant differences in pH, lactic acid/acetic acid, lactic content, NH3-N/TN and butyric content between treatments. In conclusion, molasses addition at 2.5% improved the ensiling fermentation of mixed ensilage of broccoli residue, rice straw and alfalfa.

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