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

This study was conducted to investigate optimum ensiling period and type of additive for making quality silage from green maize stover (GMS). Green maize stover from which the ear was removed for consumption/selling was used for the study. The stover was chopped into 1 to 3cm long to facilitate compaction and consolidation. Treatments were arranged in a 3*4 factorial setup with three ensiling periods and four silage treatment types; without additive (control), 1% EM (effective micro-organisms), 1% FJLB (Fermentative Juice of Lactic acid Bacteria), and 3% molasses on fresh weight basis. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design in which except the control group, each of the three groups were treated and 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 silages were analyzed. The result depicted that GMS silage made with inclusion of 3% molasses and ensiled for six weeks period showed relatively reduced NDF and ADF contents. On the other hand, GMS silage which was treated with 3% molasses and incubated for six weeks resulted relatively high in-vitro organic matter digestibility(54.47%), metabolizable energy (8.72MJ/kg DM), and crude protein content (5.9 %). The measured physical characteristics in terms of color, 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 weeks combination could be used for making quality silage from GMS.