EFEITO DA INCLUSÃO DE FUBÁ DE MILHO NA ENSILAGEM DO CAPIM-ELEFANTE BRS CAPIAÇU SOBRE A QUALIDADE DA SILAGEM

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different levels of cornmeal inclusion in elephant grass (BRS Capiaçu) silage on fermentative characteristics, bromatological composition, and silage quality. The experiment was conducted at Instituto Federal Goiano – Campus Ceres, using cut, chopped plants ensiled with 0%, 10%, 20%, and 40% cornmeal in 14 L experimental silos, stored for 6 months. After opening, losses by gases and effluents, silage density, fermentative profile (pH, solu-ble carbohydrates, organic acids, ammoniacal nitrogen), chemical composition (dry matter, crude protein, fiber, starch, total digestible nutrients), and animal performance estimates were evaluated. Data were submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA), and means were compared by Tukey’s test at 5% significance level using R statistical software. Increasing cornmeal inclusion caused a linear increase in dry matter content from 17.94% in the control (0%) to 35.76% in the 40% cornmeal treatment. Total loss-es (effluents + gases) decreased from 75.55 to 11.11 kg/m³ in the 0% and 40% corn-meal treatments, respectively. Fermentative parameters also improved with inclusion, showing a reduction in pH, increased lactic acid and soluble carbohydrate contents, and decreased butyric acid and ammoniacal nitrogen, indicating lower protein degra-dation. Bromatological composition was also enhanced, with increased crude protein (from 6.77% to 9.58%), digestible protein, ether extract, starch, and non-fibrous carbo-hydrates, along with reductions in neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and lignin contents. The higher energy supply reflected in greater total digesti-ble nutrients (from 36.95% to 74.02%) and estimated average daily gain (from -0.09 to 1.32 kg/animal unit/day). It is concluded that adding cornmeal to BRS Capiaçu silage improves preservation and nutritional value, making it more suitable for animals with higher nutritional requirements. Levels up to 40% provided the best responses, alt-hough economic feasibility should be considered before practical adoption of the technique.