Additives in ensiling palisade grass managed under grazing intensities

Abstract

Conservation of summer forage excess represents a management strategy to meet animals' needs for dry matter in the shortage period, but has been poorly studied. Silage can be used for this purpose. This study analyzed the production of palisade grass silage from pasture subjected to different grazing intensities with and without additive, determining losses by gases and effluents and chemical composition of silage. The experiment was a 4 x 3 factorial completely randomized design, with four replications. The factors were: 1st– herbage allowance of 5% (5 kg dry matter 100 kg-1 of animal weight day-1), 10, 15 and 20%. The pasture was managed under rotational stocking with 35-day grazing cycles (7 days of occupation and 28 days of rest) and 2nd - additives: a) control; b) citrus pulp pellets; c) biological inoculant for grass silage. The forage of palisade grass harvested from pastures subjected to low-intensity grazing showed quantitative and qualitative characteristics for ensiling. However, high humidity and low fermentable carbohydrate require the use of additive, favor the fermentation process and increase the nutritional quality of silage.