The Effect of Different Levels of Molasses’s Dried Sugar Pulp on the Quality of Alfalfa Silage

In this study, the availability of dryed sugar beet pulp with molases at different rates (5% and 10% wet material) for quality of alfalfa silage production (MDSBP, containing 2% molasses) was investigated. For this purpose, laboratory silos of alafalfa which harvested at the beginning of the flowering period were prepared by adding molasses dry sugar beet pulp at different levels (0, 5 and 10%) on the basis of weight. Glass jars were prepared in 5 replicates from each group and opened after 45 days. Physical and chemical analyzes were performed on silage samples. As a result of scoring in terms of smell, appearance and color, alfalfa silage (control) was rated as "medium quality" while alfalfa + 5%MDSBP and, alfalfa + 10%MDSBP silages were rated as "good quality". The dry matter of silage increased significantly (P<0.001) with the addition of the molasses dry sugar beet pulp. With increasing MDSBP level, crude protein, crude ash and acid detergent fiber amounts in silages decreased significantly (P<0.001), there was no significant change in the amount of neutral detergent fiber; while the amount of organic matter increased significantly (P<0.001). With the addition of MDSBP, the pH of alfalfa silages decreased significantly (P <0.001). The lactic acid amounts of the silages increased significantly with increasing MDSBP addition. The highest amounts of lactic acid were found in alfalfa + 10% MDSBP group (293.98 mg kg-1 in dry matter). The amount of acetic acid was significantly lower in the supplemented groups (especailly, %10 MDSBP) compared to the control group (P <0.05).It was determined that the MDSBP addition significantly reduced the levels of propionic acid and butyric acid. Also, the increased MDSBP level significantly reduced the ammonia-bound nitrogen levels of the silages compared to that of untreated alfalfa silage (24.80 mg kg -1 dry matter) (P<0.001). When the physical and chemical properties of alfalfa silage are considered, the addition of 10% MDSBP (2% molasses) to the alfalfa resulted in a higher silage quality of alfalfa silage