M. Tjandraatmadja et al., ENSILAGE OF TROPICAL GRASSES MIXED WITH LEGUMES AND MOLASSES, World journal of microbiology & biotechnology, 10(1), 1994, pp. 82-87
The effects of adding two legumes, Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena leuc
ocephala, cv. Cunningham, and molasses on the fermentation characteris
tics of silages made from two tropical grasses (Pangola grass, Digitar
ia decumbens, and Setaria sphacelata cv. Kazungula) were investigated.
Pangola grass silages contained significantly higher contents of wate
r-soluble carbohydrates and lactic acid than did setaria silages after
100 days fermentation, but there were no significant differences betw
een the two silages in populations of lactic acid bacteria and content
s of total N and NH3-N. Addition of either species of legume had no si
gnificant effect on fermentation acids and NH3-N contents, and numbers
of lactic acid bacteria. Addition of both legumes reduced NH3-N produ
ction in the silages by 59% after 5 days' fermentation. Numbers of lac
tic acid bacteria were not significantly affected by the different tre
atments. Enterococcus faecalis represented 60% of the lactic acid bact
eria isolated from the treated herbages prior to ensiling. By 100 days
of fermentation, only lactobacilli were isolated: 82% homo-fermenters
and 18% hetero-fermenters. Lactobacillus mesenteroides subsp. dextran
icum was found only in the silage supplemented with 33% (w/w) legume.
It was concluded that the low quality of tropical grasses used as feed
s for ruminants may be significantly improved by ensiling these grasse
s with small amounts of molasses and with high-protein tree leaves.