Associative effects of stylo and king grass silage different ratios on in vitro rumen fermentation

Abstract

The study was aimed to evaluate the associative effects of mixtures of stylosanthe (Stylosanthes guianensis) and king grass (Pennisetum purpureum × P. americanum cv. Reyan No. 4) silage at different ratios using in vitro gas production technique. Three stylosanthes (S. guianensis Sw. Reyan No.2, S2; S. guianensis Sw. Reyan No.20, S20; S. guianensis Sw. Reyan No.21, S21) were mixed with king grass silage (K) at different ratios (0:100, 10:90, 20:80, 40:60, 50:50, 100:0) and their associative effects were evaluated using in vitro gas technique. The results showed that under the controlled conditions, addition of the mixtures of stylosanthes and king grass silage could improve in vitro gas production (GP), in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and microbial protein (MP) and promote the vitality of rumial microbes. In addition, most mixtures of stylosanthes and king grass silage showed positive associative effects and the mixtures at ratio of 20:80 had the best associative effect based on the synthetically associative effects index (SAEI).