Silage preparation and fermentation quality of kudzu, sugarcane top and their mixture treated with lactic acid bacteria, molasses and cellulase

We studied silage fermentation of kudzu (KZ), sugarcane top (ST) and their mixtures treated with additives to be able to effectively use available local feed resources. The silages were prepared using KZ, ST, KZ 90% + ST 10%, KZ 80% + ST 20%, KZ 70% + ST 30% and KZ 60% + ST 40%, based on fresh matter (FM). These silages were treated with 10⁸ colony-forming units/g epiphytic lactic acid bacteria (LAB), 5% molasses and 0.02% cellulase of FM. The KZ contained higher crude protein (CP; 14.52%) content and lower levels of neutral detergent fiber (NDF; 62.15%) than those of ST (6.84% CP and 64.93% NDF) based on dry matter (DM). The KZ 60% + ST 40% silage fermented well with a higher (P < 0.05) lactic acid content and lower (P < 0.05) pH than those of the other mixed silages. Silages treated with molasses had lower (P < 0.05) ammonia-N, NDF, acid detergent fiber, and hemi-cellulose contents as well as pH, but higher (P < 0.05) DM, water-soluble carbohydrate, and lactic acid contents, than those of the control, LAB and cellulase treatments. The results confirmed that KZ 60% + ST 40% was the best mixing ratio to prepare silage, and molasses improved silage fermentation and fiber degradation.