Ensiling characteristics of prickly pear (opuntia-ficus indica) rejects with and without molasses for animal feed

PurposeThe aim of this work was to study the effect of adding sugar beet molasses on the biochemical properties, microbial flora, fermentation quality, and aerobic stability of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) waste silage.MethodMolasses (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%, w/w) was mixed with the cactus fruit scraps, straw and wheat bran.ResultsThe dry matter content, pH, total and reducing sugars of the pre-ensiling material increased after adding different percentages of the beet molasses (P < 0.05). During fermentation, we observed substantial protein and sugar degradation. All silage treatments reached stable pH values (pH 4.3-4.6). Among all the concentrations, the 10% beet molasses treatment underwent the highest lactic acid fermentation. Accordingly, the pH drop was higher in the 10% concentration (1.13 units) compared to lower beet molasses concertation (1.03 units). Also, the 10% concentration has the highest number of lactic acid bacteria. The number of yeast and total aerobic mesophiles decreased continuously during silage. Moreover, during post-fermentation testing, the yeast multiplied little for the 10% concentration of beet molasses.ConclusionThe results show that the addition of molasses has a significant effect on silage characteristics of prickly pear cactus.