Nutritional characterization of Acacia macracantha foliage preserved in sugarcane molasses

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the preservation of leaves of Acacia macracantha (common names uveda and black cují), either dehydrated or in fresh condition and with or without molasses, for a series of ensiling periods, to determine which combinations would result in the best nutritional value for feeding ruminants. The experiment was of completely random design with a 5 x 4 x 2 factorial arrangement of the factors: ensiling time (7, 14, 28, 56, and 112 d), level of molasses inclusion (0, 25, 50, and 75% dry basis); and moisture content (dehydrated under the sun or not), with three replicates per treatment combination. The 120 total experimental units occupied polyethylene microsilos (3.7 L capacity) maintained at ambient temperature. Contents of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were determined. The data were subjected to analysis of variance, the model for which included interactions of the treatment factors, and Sheffe test for separation means. Six treatment combinations were identified as resulting in the best nutritional value in terms of pH, PC, NDF, and ADF for a tropical leguminous forage. The results demonstrated that fresh leaves of Acacia macracantha could be preserved for 56 or 112 d, with adequate pH and nutrient contents, by using 25% molasses inclusion. Silage made from fresh forage preserved for 112 d showed an in vitro DM digestibility of 54.5%.