Losses and Dry Matter Recovery of Pioneiro Grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) and Maize Silages in Mixtures

Forages ensiled with high moisture content produce increased quantities of effluents losing highly digestible nutrients (McDonald 1981). The ensilage process usually involves gaseous and effluent losses which are strictly related to the moisture content of the plants used for conservation. The addition of materials with high dry matter content and materials which improve the fermentation pattern has been an alternative to reduce these effluent losses. The maize plant and maize grain, by their physical and fermentative characteristics, may represent alternatives to reduce the losses in the process (Anaya-Ortega et al. 2009). This work was carried out with the aim to evaluate the effect of whole plant maize and maize grain addition to silages of Pioneiro grass as way to control dry matter losses.