Browsing by Author "ADEGBOLA, JOHN KAYODE"

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    INVITRO DIGESTIBILITY OF SWEET CORN STOVER AS AFFECTED BY MECHANICAL HANDLING AND ENSILING DURATIONS
    (2024-10-28) ADEGBOLA, JOHN KAYODE
    ABSTRACT This study investigated the effect of invitro digestibility of sweet corn Stover silage as affected by mechanical handling and ensiling duration. The study was laid out as 2 *7 factorial designs. Mechanical processing (JF2-D Chopper and Shredder) against ensiling duration (0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20,24) weeks. At 24 hours, shredded corn Stover produced significantly more gas (55.49 mL) compared to chopped Stover (33.80 mL). This suggests that shredding may increase the fermentability of the material in the short term, possibly due to increased surface area for microbial action .However, at 48 hours, the trend reversed, with chopped Stover producing more gas (262.14 mL) than shredded Stover (194.04 mL). This could indicate that while shredding promotes initial rapid fermentation, chopping may lead to more sustained fermentation over time. There was no significant difference in NDFD between chopped and shredded Stover. However, ADFD was numerically higher for shredded Stover (52.74%) compared to chopped Stover (46.52%), although the statistical significance is not indicated. This suggests that shredding might improve the digestibility of the more recalcitrant fiber fractions. At 24 hours, gas production varied significantly with ensiling duration, with the highest value observed at 12 weeks (55.40 mL) and the lowest at 8 weeks (36.59 mL). This non-linear pattern suggests complex fermentation dynamics during the ensiling process. In conclusion the in vitro digestibility of sweet corn Stover silage was influenced by mechanical handling and ensiling duration. It can be concluded that both shredded and chopped Stover can be used or feed to animal for optimum digestibility. Also the ensiling duration as shown in the study has a significant effect on the in vitro digestibility.