Vine, tuber and whole plant silages from five cultivars of sweet potato (Hapur local, Indonesia Boger (IB) 97-6/7, IB 12/24, IB 12/7 and CIP SWA-4) were investigated for nitrogen content, in vitro digestibility and metabolizable energy content and rate and extent of in vitro gas production using fresh pig faecal matter as inoculum (1 part faeces: 50 part buffer). Except for nitrogen content, significant cultivars dependent differences were only observed for total plant silages (TPS) but not for vines and tuber silages. In total plant silages nitrogen content, in vitro digestibility and metabolizable energy content ranged from 1.0 to 1.5%, 63.4 to 71.3% and 9.3 to 10.7%, respectively. Highest and lowest extent of in vitro gas production from TPS were 63.8 ml/200 mg DM and 56.3 ml/200 mg DM respectively. No significant differences were observed for rate of in vitro gas production from TPS, however rates of gas production from tubers and vines differed significantly between cultivars.
Authors: S. Vellaikumar, I. B. Chung, KVSV. Prasad, D. Ravi, A. A. Khan, M. Blummel, S. Vellaikumar, I. B. Chung, KVSV. Prasad, D. Ravi, A. A. Khan, M. Blummel
Contributors: Ben Lukuyu, Ben Lukuyu
Subjects: Sweetpotato-Based Cattle Feed
Publication Date: 2011
Keywords: Livestock feed, Pig faecal inoculum, Sweetpotato silage