Determination of Silage Quality of Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) with Oat (Avena sativa L.) and Rye (Secale cereale L.) Mixtures

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to determine the quality of silage mixtures (100:0%, 75:25%, 50:50%, 25:75% and 0:100%) of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L. cv Berkem) with oat (Avena sativa L. cv Faikbey) and rye (Secale cereale L. cv Aslım-93). Following the harvest, plants were cut in 2-3 cm sizes, filled in vacuum bags according to the mixing ratios and left for fermentation at 25±2 oC for 60 days. Physical observations (smell, structure, color), dry matter (DM), pH, crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) analysis were applied to silage samples and relative feed value (RFV) was determined. According to the results obtained, the total physical score of the silages, consisting of the sum of the odor, structure and color scores, ranged between 13.30-19.75 and the physical quality of the silages was ranged between middle-very good class. According to the results of the research, it was determined that the silage DM, ADF and NDF ratios decreased, and the pH, CP and RFV values increased in parallel with the increase in the fenugreek ratio in the mixture. The DM, pH, CP, ADF, NDF and RFV values of the silages varied between 15.67-34.33%, 5.06-5.79%, 6.01-18.17%, 32.03-48.90%, 40.07-74.53% and 63.41-148.48%, respectively. As a result, it was concluded that the silage of “25% oats + 75% fenugreek” mixture was superior to the silages of other mixtures, especially when considered the chemical parameters.