The effects of urea supplementation on pomegranate pulp (Punica granatum L.) silage fermentation, aerobic stability and in vitro gas production

Ankara Universitesi Veteriner Fakultesi Dergisi · Ocak 2014

Makale Bilgileri

DergiAnkara Universitesi Veteriner Fakultesi Dergisi

Yayın TarihiOcak 2014

Cilt / Sayfa61 · 217-223

DOI10.1501/Vetfak_0000002632

Scopus ID2-s2.0-84898775729

Erişim🔓 Açık Erişim

Özet The aim of current experiment was to determine the effects of urea supplementation as nitrogen source on the fermentation, aerobic stability, in vitro gas production, microbiological characteristics of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) pulp silages in laboratory conditions. Urea was applied at 0.0 (control), 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% levels to pomegranate pulp, and pomegranate pulp chopped to about 1.5-2.0 cm length. The supplementation of urea significantly increased the crude protein (CP), but neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) with water soluble content (WSC) decreased with increasing level of urea (P<0.01). The supplementation of urea decreased the acetic acid and butyric acid whereas the supplementation of urea increased the pH, lactic acid, propionic acid and ammonia-N (NH3-N) content of pomegranate pulp silage (P<0.01). The supplementation of urea significantly (P<0.01) increased the in vitro gas production, digestible organic matter (DOM), metabolizable energy (ME) and lactic acid bacteria whereas yeast and mould decreased. On the other hand the supplementation of urea improved the aerobic stability of pomegranate pulp silage decreasing the CO2 production. As a conclusion the urea can be used as a silage additive in the level of 1.5 and 2.0 % when pomegranate pulp is ensiled.