the Ensiling melon biomass with different levels of inclusion of ground corn

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate silages produced with different mixtures of melon biomass and different levels of ground corn. The experiment was conducted under a completely randomized design in factorial scheme (3 × 4), with four replications. The first factor consieted of three mixtures of plant (branch and leaf) and fruit (melon; scraps) on natural matter (NM) as follows: 0, 100 and 1000 g kg^-1 fruit. The second factor consisted of the use of different amounts of ground corn (0, 50, 100 and 200 g kg^-1). Experimental silos with capacity for 5 kg and density of 500 kg m^-3 were used. After 90 days, the silos were opened and the evaluations were carried out. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and the means were analyzed through the Tukey’s test (fermentative losses, chemical composition, aerobic stability), Scott-Knott test (microbiology and organic acids) and regression, and were compared with a significance level of p<0.05. The best dry matter results were obtained in silages with 0, 100 and 1000 g kg^-1  fruit combined with 200 g kg^-1 ground corn, which averaged 289.4, 290.4 and 264.1 g kg^-1, respectively. Quadratic behavior was observed for effluent losses in silages with 100 g kg^-1 fruit presenting a minimum value of 46.8 e and a maximum 56.2 kg t^-1 NM. Regarding the mold population count, the highest values were obtained in silages with 100 g kg^-1 fruit and 50 g kg^-1 ground corn. Silages with 100 and 1000 g kg^-1 fruit in melon biomass and 200 g kg^-1 ground corn presented superior quality indicators, characterizing these biomass mixtures as the most suitable for silage making.