Physical, fermentative, and nutritional quality of silages made from three Sorghum bicolor varieties as affected by ensiling duration in South-west Nigeria

Despite large-scale sorghum production in Nigeria, its utilization as livestock feed is limited to the stover following grain harvest. Therefore, we evaluated the physical, fermentative, and nutritive quality of whole-crop silages from three Sorghum bicolor varieties at different ensiling durations. The experiment was 3×5 factorial comprising three varieties (Samsorg14, Samsorg17, and Samsorg41) and five ensiling durations (0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks). Forages were ensiled at the dough stage, and the silos were opened at the pre-determined durations for quality analyses. Samsorg14 silage recorded higher pH (5.88) and significant titratable acidity (8.32 g kg -1 ), while the least pH was observed for Samsorg17 silage (4.63). The forages ensiled for 8 weeks had a higher pH (5.04) compared with 4.51, 5.03, and 4.57 recorded at 4, 12, and 16 weeks, respectively. In contrast, forages ensiled for 4 weeks recorded the highest titratable acidity (8.39) and Flieg point (104.07). CP content was higher in fresh Samsorg17 (110.64 g kg -1 ) and lower (71.01 g kg -1 ) in Samsorg41 ensiled for 8 weeks as influenced by variety × ensiling duration. Cumulative gas volume and methane were higher for Samsorg41 silage (21.21 and 6.76 ml 200 mg -1 DM respectively). Ensiling for 16 weeks resulted in higher silages’ IVDMD (44.00%) compared with other ensiling durations. Samsorg14 and Samsorg17 had a relatively stable silage pH, higher CP, and digestibility. Therefore, their silages could be conserved up to 16 weeks to provide high-quality feed for ruminants during the dry season to maintain animal productivity and ultimately enhance food security.