Nutritional Evaluation of Maize Stover Silage Enriched with Selected Browse Fodder Species for Ruminant Feeding

Abstract

In tropical regions, climatic variations significantly affect both the availability and nutritional quality of forages for ruminant production. Consequently, the utilization of maize (Zea mays L.) stover silage has been suggested as an alternative feed source. However, the inherently low protein content of maize stover necessitates its combination with browse legumes to enhance its nutritional value. This research was conducted to assess the proximate composition and mineral profile of maize stover residues (MSR) ensiled with selected browses (Gliricidia sepium (GS), Ficus thonningii (FT), and Gmelina arborea (GA) using four dietary treatments - T₁ (100% MSR), T₂ (MSR70GS30), T₃ (MSR70FT30), and T₄ (MSR70GA30) after stored for 21 days. The inclusion of browse species significantly (P<0.05) affected proximate composition of the silage as T₁ has the highest dry matter, crude fibre, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, and acid detergent lignin of 35.06, 37.82, 64.51, 32.62, 13.54% respectively compared to other dietary treatments, while T₃ had the highest crude protein (16.50%) and ash content (10.12%). The silage pH and temperature ranges between 4.30 – 4.60 and 27.53 – 28.30 °C, respectively. Mineral composition analysis revealed significant differences (P<0.05) among treatments, with T₃ having the highest concentrations of phosphorus (0.35%), potassium (0.86%), calcium (0.27%), magnesium (0.21%), iron (191.50 mg/kg), and zinc (51.94 mg/kg). The findings suggest that ensiling maize stover residues with browse species mixtures can serve as a valuable supplementary feed for ruminants.