Effects of wilting and rice bran supplementation on the quality of taro (Colocasia esculenta) leaf and petiole silage

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine how wilting and supplementation of rice bran (10% and 20%) would affect the ensiling characteristics of taro petioles and leaves (TPL).

Samples were collected and measured for pH, dry matter, ammonia, oxalate, and organic acids on days 1, 7, 14, 21, 30, 45, and 60 of ensiling. It was shown that wilted TPL silage was high in dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) but low in oxalate content compared to fresh TPL silage. The addition of 20% rice bran in fresh TPL resulted in high fermentation quality with higher DM content and consistently low oxalate compared to TPL added with 10% or without supplementation. This result implies that TPL should be wilted before ensiling or should be ensiled with 20% of rice bran for better silage quality.