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Composition and in vitro rumen degradation kinetics of saboya grass (Megathyrsus maximus) silage with inclusion of passion fruit rind (Passiflora edulis Sims.)

Abstract:

In tropical countries, ensiling can be a viable way of preserving forages collected during the growing season and an effective method to dispose of agro-industrial by-products. The aim of this work was to study the effects of mixing passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims.) rind with 45 days (d) old saboya grass (Megathyrsus maximus) at increasing levels (10, 20, 30 and 40% as fresh matter) prior to silaging. Both products were chopped and thoroughly mixed, and introduced in experimental micro-silos (6 replicates per treatment) during 35 d. After opening the micro-silos, chemical composition and in vitro dry matter degradation at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours were determined. Acid detergent fibre content linearly decreased (P < 0.05) and effective dry matter degradability linearly increased (P < 0.05), due to a rise of both soluble and potentially degradable dry matter fractions, with the increasing levels of passion fruit rind. It was concluded that adding 40% passion fruit rind to 60% saboya grass could allow to improve the nutritive value of the obtained silage.