[P1-05] Silage preparation of high-protein woody plant mixed with Napier grass or corn stover in Southern Africa
To effectively utilize woody plants (WPs) including gliricidia and leucaena as feed resources, we studied the chemical composition and silage fermentation of WPs prepared with Napier grass or corn stover in Mozambique. WPs were mixed with both forages at proportion of 10, 25, and 50% based on fresh matter. The crude protein (CP) contents of WPs were 15% higher than that in both forages based on dry matter. Due to the unfavorable factors for silage fermentation, such as low water-soluble carbohydrate content and lactic acid bacteria quantity, and high lactic acid buffering capacity in WPs, it is difficult to prepare high-quality WP silage. With an increase in the proportion of WPs, the contents of CP and energy of the mixture silages increased, and the neutral detergent fiber content decreased. Corn stover can improve markedly the microbial population, nutrients, and fermentation quality of WP silages than Napier grass. Therefore, the corn stover is an ideal silage combination with WPs, confirming that the WPs are potential feed sources for ruminants, which could alleviate feed shortages in Africa.