Abstract: The aim of this study, was to evaluate the chemical composition, ME and OMD of sugar beet leaves-maize silage mixtures in comparison to pure maize and Sugar Beet Leaves Silages (SBLS). Ensiling sugar beat leaves with whole crop maize had a significant (p<0.05) effect on chemical composition, pH, OMD and estimated ME value of the mixtures compared to the silage from the pure crops (maize silage and sugar beet leaves silage). Gas production of all sugar beet leaves-maize silage mixtures at all incubation times was lower than obtained for whole crop maize silage. There were significant differences between silages in terms of ME, OMD with whole crop maize silage and sugar beet leaves-maize than whole crop sugar beet leaves silage (p<0.05). Total gas production (a+b) ranged from 50-247.5 and the lowest total gas production was obtained for sugar beet leaves silage. It was concluded that ensiling sugar beet leaves with whole crop maize improved the pH, OMD and ME values. The optimum proportion for mixed silages is 50% sugar beet leaves -50% whole crop maize (C). There is no requirement for additatives to obtain the required pH level for high quality silage.
Y. Gurbuz and M. Kaplan , 2008. Chemical Composition, Organic Matter Digestibility, in Vitro Gas Production Characteristics and Ensilling of Sugar Beet Leaves as Alternative Feed Resource. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 7: 1568-1574.