Effects of Additive Type and Ensiling Periods on Fermentation Characteristics of Green Maize Stover

AbstractThis study was conducted to investigate optimum ensiling period and type of additive formaking quality silage from green maize stover (GMS). Green maize stover from which the earwas removed for consumption/selling was used for the study. The stover was chopped into 1 to3cm long to facilitate compaction and consolidation. Treatments were arranged in a 3*4factorial setup with three ensiling periods and four silage treatment types; without additive(control), 1% EM (effective micro-organisms), 1% FJLB (Fermentative Juice of Lactic acidBacteria), and 3% molasses on fresh weight basis. The experiment was laid out in a completelyrandomized design in which except the control group, each of the three groups were treatedand ensiled with the respective additives for 4, 6, and 8weeks each with five replications.Physical quality, chemical composition, and in vitro organic matter digestibility of the silageswere analyzed. The result depicted that GMS silage made with inclusion of 3% molasses andensiled for six weeks period showed relatively reduced NDF and ADF contents. On the otherhand, GMS silage which was treated with 3% molasses and incubated for six weeks resulted inrelatively high in-vitro organic matter digestibility(54.47%), metabolizable energy (8.72MJ/kgDM), and crude protein content (5.9 %). The measured physical characteristics in terms ofcolor, smell, texture and mold coverage, pH and temperature of GMS ensiled using 3%molasses for six weeks were also within the recommended range for quality silage. Therefore,3% molasses as an additive on fresh weight basis with fermentation period of 6 weekscombination could be used for making quality silage from GMS