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Bagasse Silage from Sweet Pearl Millet and Sweet Sorghum as Influenced by Harvest Dates and Delays between Biomass Chopping and Pressing

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Abstract

Bagasse remaining after extracting the juice from crop biomass for ethanol production could be preserved as silage and used in animal feedstock, but the nutritive and conservation attributes of bagasse silage from sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and sweet pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br) are not well known. We evaluated the nutritive and conservation attributes of silages made with the bagasse of two species (sweet pearl millet and sweet sorghum) harvested on two dates (August and September) at two sites in Québec (Canada) and ensiled after four delays between biomass chopping and pressing (0.5, 2, 4, and 6 h). Bagasse silages made in laboratory silos were considered well preserved (pH ≤ 4.0, NH3-N < 100 g kg−1 total N, lactate > 30 g kg−1 DM, no propionic and butyric acids) regardless of species, harvest date, or delay between biomass chopping and pressing. Sweet pearl millet and sweet sorghum bagasse silages had similar total N concentration, in vitro true digestibility of dry matter (IVTD), and in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD). Bagasse silage made from biomass harvested in August rather than in September had a 4 % greater concentration of total N, a 4 % greater IVTD, and a 8 % greater NDFD. The delay between biomass chopping and pressing did not affect the nutritive and conservation attributes of silages. Juice extraction from the biomass of sweet pearl millet and sweet sorghum did not impair attributes of good silage fermentation but it reduced its nutritive value.

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Abbreviations

ADF:

acid detergent fiber

CHU:

corn heat unit

DM:

dry matter

FM:

fresh matter

IVTD:

in vitro true digestibility of dry matter

NDF:

neutral detergent fiber

NDFD:

in vitro NDF digestibility

NSC:

nonstructural carbohydrates

NIRS:

near infrared reflectance spectroscopy

SEM:

standard error of the mean

VFA:

volatile fatty acids

WSC:

water soluble carbohydrates

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the “Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ)”. The authors thank Mario Laterrière, Valérie Bélanger, Olivier Lalonde, Marianne Crépeau, Francis Gagnon, Mike Lewis, and AERC Inc. for field and laboratory assistance and support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de phytologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Amélia dos Passos Bernardes, Annie Brégard & Anne Vanasse

  2. Soils and Crops Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2560 Hochelaga Boulevard, Québec, QC, G1V 2J3, Canada

    Gaëtan F. Tremblay & Gilles Bélanger

  3. McGill University, Macdonald Campus, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada

    Philippe Seguin

Authors
  1. Amélia dos Passos Bernardes
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  2. Gaëtan F. Tremblay
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  3. Gilles Bélanger
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  4. Philippe Seguin
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  5. Annie Brégard
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  6. Anne Vanasse
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Correspondence to Gaëtan F. Tremblay.

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dos Passos Bernardes, A., Tremblay, G.F., Bélanger, G. et al. Bagasse Silage from Sweet Pearl Millet and Sweet Sorghum as Influenced by Harvest Dates and Delays between Biomass Chopping and Pressing. Bioenerg. Res. 9, 88–97 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-015-9666-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-015-9666-2

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