Abstract

GARAY-MARTINEZ, Jonathan Raúl et al. Nutritional value of soybean and buffel grass silages in different proportions. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2024, vol.15, n.2, e3648.  Epub June 21, 2024. ISSN 2007-0934.  https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v15i2.3648.

The availability of forage decreases during the dry season, so it is advisable to conserve forage and preferably it should contain high nutritional value. The present study aimed to evaluate the nutritive value of silages in different proportions of soybean and buffel grass forage under subtropical conditions. The treatments were three forage combinations: S50B50 (50% soybean forage + 50% buffel grass forage), S25B75 (25% soybean forage + 75% buffel grass forage) and B100 (100% buffel grass forage ). The variables evaluated were: crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, ether extract, and metabolizable energy. Data were analyzed based on a completely randomized design with three repetitions and Tukey’s mean comparison ((= 0.05). The S50B50 treatment presented the highest values of CP (128 vs 65 g kg-1) and EE (28 vs 21 g kg-1), compared to B100, which had the highest values of neutral detergent fiber (692 vs 513 g kg-1) and acid detergent fiber (408 vs 355 g kg-1). S25B75 and B100 treatments presented similar ME values (p> 0.05), 1.43 and 1.54 Mcal kg-1, respectively, which were surpassed by S50B50 by 15% (1.71 Mcal kg-1). Soybean and buffel grass silage could be an alternative for ruminant feeding during the dry season; in particular, the combination of 50% soybean forage and 50% buffel grass obtains the best nutrient profile.

Keywords : feed supplementation; forage conservation; ruminant nutrition.