Abstract:
A study was conducted to examine the nutritive values of the silages made from major
grasses available in the Kilinochchi District. Inadequate quality forage and the lower
availability of forage crops is considered as a limiting factor for livestock production.
Introducing of different silage grasses helps to overcome these problems all over the
dry zone. In dry zone of the Sri Lanka, insufficient fodder production is one of the main
factor restricting dairy production. Silage is a feed that has been preserved by
acidification as a result of fermentation in the absence of oxygen. "Ensiled forage" or
"silage," can remain intact for up to three years when storing properly. The lack of
high-quality forages and their accessibility may be a factor in Sri Lanka for lower dairy
productivity of livestock. In dry zone of the Sri Lanka, insufficient fodder production is
one of the main factor restricting dairy production. The main objective of this study is
to find out the nutritional characteristics of silage made from different grass (Indian
red napier, CO5 grass and other napier grasses, CO3 and super napier) grown in
Northern part of Sri Lanka. Proper matured grasses were harvested and four silage
samples (T1,T2,T3 & T4) were prepared according to the standard procedure. The
proximate composition of different types of silage made from different grasses were
significantly different (p <0.05). Among the silages, CO5 had the highest percentage of
crude protein (CP) (16.07 %) and moisture (75.04 %) meanwhile super napier had the
highest percentage of fiber (31.43%), lowest percentage of ash content (2.5%) and
lowest percentage of fat content (1.16%). Based on the above results, we can conclude
that super napier silage have higher nutrient value compared with other silages.
Therefore the silage made from super napier can be suggested for the Kilinochchi
district farmers to provide better yield and growth performances.
