Chemical composition of alfalfa silage with waste date and its feeding effect on ruminal fermentation characteristics and microbial protein synthesis in sheep

An evaluation of the effectiveness of sumac and molasses as additives for alfalfa silage: Influence on nutrient composition, in vitro degradability and fermentation quality

This study investigated the effects of sumac and molasses on nutrient composition, in vitro degradability and fermentation quality of alfalfa silage. Alfalfa was ensiled in quadruplicate in vacuum jars untreated group (A) or after the following treatments: sumac group at 10% (AS), molasses group at 5% (AM), and sumac (10%) and molasses (5%) group (ASM). Silos (n = 64) were stored for 0, 21, 45 or 60 days. The results showed that dry matter (DM) contents of the AS, AM and ASM groups were statistically higher than the control group (p < 0.001). Only on the 21st day of fermentation the crude ash content of the AS group was found to be significantly higher than the other groups (p < 0.05). In vitro, DM and organic matter degradation values of the AMS group increased significantly (p < 0.001). A significant decrease in alfalfa silage's pH values was determined with sumac and molasses additives (p < 0.001). The ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) values of the control, AS, AM and ASM groups at Day 60 were determined as 9.08%, 7.22%, 7.00% and 6.81% respectively (p < 0.05). The water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) values of all groups on the 60th day were significantly decreased compared to the 0th day (p < 0.001). When the groups were evaluated within themselves, there was a statistically significant difference between the 0th and 60th day lactic acid values. The acetic acid content of the A group on the 60th day was found to be significantly higher than the other groups (p < 0.01). There was a significant decrease in propionic acid levels on Days 21, 45 and 60 compared to Day 0 of fermentation (p < 0.001). The highest butyric acid (BA) level was determined in the A group on the 21st, 45th and 60th days of fermentation (p < 0.05). In conclusion, sumac prevents proteolysis depending on its tannin content. It improves silage fermentation positively thanks to its organic acid content, while the molasses additive is effective in silage fermentation, mainly depending on the WSC level. However, it was determined that neither additive could reduce the silage pH to the appropriate value ranges due to the low doses, and they could not mainly prevent the formation of BA.

Growth traits, hematological, and ruminal fluid profile of sheep offered ensiled coffee skin replacing dried water spinach

Background and Aim

Developing simple, cost-efficient sheep feed will improve farmers' incomes. Including coffee skin in feed offers the most technical method of increasing sheep weight gain. This study aimed to evaluate varying proportions of ensiled coffee skin replacing dried water spinach and determine the optimal combination for the growth performance, physiological and hematological profiles, and rumen fluid of sheep.

Materials and Methods

Eighty-four animals were randomly allocated to the treatments, arranged in a randomized block design using the initial weight as a block. Seven treatment diets were adjusted and a 12-animal replication was used for each treatment. The treatments were as follows: T0: 30% maize stover, 30% dried water spinach, 5% pollard, 20% coffee skin; T1: 30% maize stover, 25% dried water spinach, 5% pollard, 5% ensiled coffee skin; T2: 30% maize stover, 20% dried water spinach, 5% pollard, 10% ensiled coffee skin; T3: 30% maize stover, 15% dried water spinach, 5% pollard, 15% ensiled coffee skin; T4: 30% maize stover, 10% dried water spinach, 5% pollard, 20% ensiled coffee skin; T5: 30% maize stover, 5% dried water spinach, 5% pollard, 25% ensiled coffee skin; T6: 30% maize stover, 5% pollard, and 30% ensiled coffee skin. The sheep were reared for 70 days.The parameters observed during the early stage included growth performance (initial body weight, LW gain, final body weight, and feed intake). At the end of periods, a representative sample of ruminal fluid (approximately 150 mL) was collected from slaughtered sheep, duplicated, and then incubated for 18 h and blood samples were collected from the sheep (jugular vein) in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid tubes. Then, used to analyze various blood biochemical parameters.

Results

The final body weights showed a linear curve increasing as the treatment increased (p < 0.05). The ensiled coffee skin tended to increase at 6 h incubation time, producing reduced methane gas (p < 0.05). However, in general, the use of ensiled coffee skin did not significantly alter the blood biochemistry of crossbreed sheep (p > 0.05). There was no significant effect on the protozoal population (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Increasing the level of ensiled coffee skin up to 30% replacing dried water spinach increased the final body weight of crossbreed sheep with no adverse effect.

The Effect of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ZZU203, Cellulase-Producing Bacillus methylotrophicus, and Their Combinations on Alfalfa Silage Quality and Bacterial Community

This study assessed the effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (ZZU203), cellulase-producing Bacillus methylotrophicus (CB), or their combination (ZZU203_CB) on the fermentation parameters of alfalfa after 10 and 60 days of ensiling. Additionally, the bacterial community compositions were analyzed using absolute quantification 16S-seq (AQS). The results showed that CB silage displayed a higher lactic acid (LA) concentration at 10 d, a higher abundance of Lactobacillus, and lower abundance of Pediococcus, Enterococcus, and Weissella than those in the control (CK) silage. Compared with CK silage, the ZZU203 silage increased LA concentration, fructose and rhamnose concentrations, and the abundance of Lactobacillus, and decreased pH value, ammoniacal nitrogen, acetic acid, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber concentrations, and the abundance of Pediococcus, Enterococcus, Weissella, Hafnia, and Garciella after 60 days of ensiling. In addition, ZZU203 and ZZU203_CB silage had a similar silage quality and bacterial community, while the inoculation of ZZU203_CB significantly promoted LA accumulation and the numbers of Lactobacillus at 10 d compared with ZZU203 silage. Therefore, ZZU203 or a combination of ZZU203 and CB can be used as potential silage additives to improve the silage quality of alfalfa.

Effects of ambient temperature and available sugar on bacterial community of Pennisetum sinese leaf: An in vitro study

The present in vitro study investigated the effects of temperature and available sugar on the bacterial community of Pennisetum sinese leaf during fermentation. P. sinese leaves were cultured in MRS broth containing 0.4 and 1.6 g sugar and incubated at 25°C and 45°C for 9, 18, and 36 h. The results showed that the dominant phyla during sugar fermentation were Firmicutes, followed by Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Compared to a low incubation temperature (25°C), a high incubation temperature (45°C) decreased the relative abundances of Exiguobacterium and Acinetobacter and increased those of Bacillus and Paenibacillus. Leaf samples incubated at 25°C showed higher bacterial alpha diversity indices than those incubated at 45°C. Principal coordinate analysis revealed that the bacterial community structure was altered by the high incubation temperature. Sugar concentration of 1.6 g/50 ml increased the relative abundances of Bacillus and Klebsiella but decreased those of Paenibacillus and Serratia as compared to sugar concentration of 0.4 g/50 ml. pH was the primary factor that influenced the succession of bacterial communities during sugar fermentation in P. sinese leaves. In conclusion, ambient temperatures (25°C and 45°C) and high sugar concentration restructured the bacterial communities on P. sinese leaves by facilitating the dominance of Bacillus and Paenibacillus. This study provided insights into the mechanisms by which bacterial communities on P. sinese leaves are enriched.

Rumen bacterial community profile and fermentation in Barki sheep fed olive cake and date palm byproducts

Rumen bacteria make the greatest contribution to rumen fermentation that enables the host animal to utilize the ingested feeds. Agro-industrial byproducts (AIP) such as olive cake (OC) and date palm byproducts (discarded dates (DD), and date palm fronds (DPF)) represent a practical solution to the deficiency in common feed resources. In this study, thirty-six growing Barki lambs were divided into three groups to evaluate the effect of untraditional diets including the AIP on the growth performance. Subsequently, nine adult Barki rams were used to evaluate the effect of experimental diets on rumen fermentation and rumen bacteria. Three rations were used: common concentrate mixture (S1), common untraditional concentrate mixture including OC and DD (S2), and the same concentrate mixture in S2 supplemented with roughage as DPF enriched with 15% molasses (S3). The animals in S2 group showed higher dry matter intake (DMI) and lower relative growth rate (RGR) as compared to the animals in S1 group. However, the animals in S3 group were the lowest in DMI but achieved RGR by about 87.6% of that in the S1 group. Rumen pH, acetic and butyric acids were more prevalent in animals of S3 group and rumen ammonia (NH3-N), total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), propionic acid were higher in S1. Rumen enzymes activities were higher in S1 group followed by S3 and S2. The bacterial population was more prevalent in S1 and microbial diversity was higher in the S3 group. Principal coordinate analysis revealed clusters associated with diet type and the relative abundance of bacteria varied between sheep groups. The bacterial community was dominated by phylum Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes; whereas, Prevotella, Ruminococcus, and Butyrivibrio were the dominant genera. Results indicate that diet S3 supplemented by OC, DD, and DPF could replace the conventional feed mixture.

Evaluation of maifanite and silage as amendments for green waste composting

Composting is a popular method for recycling organic solid wastes including agricultural and forestry residues. However, traditional composting method is time consuming, generates foul smells, and produces an immature product. The effects of maifanite (MF; at 0%, 8.5%, and 13.5%) and/or silage (SG; at 0%, 25%, and 45%) as amendments on an innovative, two-stage method for composting green waste (GW) were investigated. The combined addition of MF and SG greatly improved composting conditions, reduced composting time, and enhanced compost quality in terms of composting temperature, bulk density, water-holding capacity, void ratio, pH, cation exchange capacity, ammonia nitrogen content, dissolved organic carbon content, crude fibre degradation, microbial numbers, enzyme activities, nutrient contents, and phytotoxicity. The two-stage composting of GW with 8.5% MF and 45% SG generated the highest quality and the most mature compost product and did so in only 21 days. With the optimized composting, the degradation rate of cellulose and hemicellulose reached 46.3 and 82.3%, respectively, and the germination index of Chinese cabbage and lucerne was 153 and 172%, respectively, which were all far higher than values obtained with the control. The combined effects of MF and SG on GW composting have not been previously explored, and this study therefore provided new and practical information. The comprehensive analyses of compost properties during and at the end of the process provided insight into underlying mechanisms. The optimized two-stage composting method may be a viable and sustainable alternative for GW management in that it converts the waste into a useful product.