In vitro fermentation parameters of pineapple crop residue silage and sorghum silage

Pineapple crop elimination silage can be an alternative in feeding ruminants in partial or total replacement of traditionally used silages. The objective was to characterize and compare the fermentation kinetics of pineapple crop residue silage and sorghum silage. The silages were evaluated using the in vitro cumulative gas production fermentation technique. According to the confidence interval, the volume of gases produced from rapidly digested carbohydrates in food (V̂f1) and the volume of gases produced from slowly digested carbohydrates (V̂f2) from sorghum silage (16.02 and 8.03 mL) was greater than pineapple silage (14.81 and 5.91 mL), respectively. The accumulated gas production values were 20.72 and 24.05 for pineapple silage and sorghum silage, respectively. The digestion rate of the rapidly digestible carbohydrate fraction (k̂1) was higher for sorghum silage and the digestion rate of the slowly degradable fiber fraction (k̂) was higher for pineapple silage. Although sorghum silage is k̂1 superior to pineapple silage, in foods where fibrous fractions predominate, the speed (k̂1) and the extent of digestion (V̂f1) of the non-fibrous fraction are secondary to the total energy input. In other words, the energetic contribution depends on the rates (k̂) and extent (V̂f2) of digestion of the slowly degradable fraction. In this sense, pineapple silage is suitable for inclusion in the ruminant diet.