Zhang Su-jiang;Chaudhry, Abdul Shakoor;Ramdani, Diky;Osman, Amerjan;Guo Xue-feng;Edwards, Grant Raymond;Cheng, Long

Tarim Univ, Coll Anim Sci, Key Lab Tarim Anim Husb Sci & Technol, Alar 843300, Peoples R China;Newcastle Univ, Sch Agr Food & Rural Dev, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU, Tyne & Wear, England;Tarim Univ, Coll Plant Sci & Technol, Alar 843300, Peoples R China;Padjadjaran State Univ, Fac Anim Husb, Jatinangor 45363, Jawa Barat, Indonesia;Lincoln Univ, Fac Agr & Life Sci, POB 85084, Christchurch, New Zealand

high sugar forage sorghum;maize silage;digestibility;methane;gas production

The chemical composition, mineral profile and in vitro fermentation characteristics of maize (MZ), high sugar forage sorghum (HS) and forage sorghum (FS), and silages made from each forage type were measured. The MZ and MZ silage (MZS) had higher crude protein, starch and ether extract contents than both sorghum forages and sorghum silages. HS had higher ash and water-soluble carbohydrate concentrations than FS and MZ. MZ, MZS, HS and HS silage (HSS) had lower neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin than FS and FS silage (FSS). FSS had higher dry matter (DM) and pH than MZS and HSS. HSS contained higher concentrations of P and K than FSS and MZS. MZS and HSS had higher in vitro dry matter and organic matter digestibility, CH4 production, total volatile fatty acids, acetate and propionate than FSS. pH was higher for FSS than for HSS, and ammonia was lower for HSS than for MZS and FSS. HSS had higher gas production than MZS and FSS after 2, 4, 6 and 8 h incubation. MZS had higher gas production than HSS and FSS after 26 and 28 h of incubation. The results indicate that HS may substitute for MZ to make good quality silage. However, animal studies are needed to assess the acceptability and feeding values of HSS vs. MZS for ruminant production.