Effect of storage time on the quality of fermented total mixedration (FTMR) from sweet potato by-products

Abstract

The experiment was carried out to establish diet formulations for beef cattle, with the main ingredients being sweet potato vines (SPV) and sweet potato tubers (type 3) (SPT). The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design with three treatments and three replications with seven evaluation time points. The formulations with the same ratio of SPV and SPT (according to DM) were mixed with other ingredients such as rice straw, copra meal, extracted soybean, corn kernel, rice bran, salt, mineral premix, and urea. Treatments were evaluated for sensory and chemical composition at 1, 14, 28, 42, 56, 70, and 84 days after ensiling. The parameters to assess the nutritional content such as dry matter (DM), ash, crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and ether extract (EE). The pH values starting from 14 to 84 days of storage were all satisfactory for silage since there is a pH in the range of 4-4.5. The NH3 content in the same formulation over the fermentation times was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The assessment results of changes in nutritional content and sensory evaluation over time showed little change in the formulation; all three formulations met the standards of Fermented Total Mixed Ration (FTMR).