Silages of sorghum, Tamani guinea grass, and Stylosanthes in an integrated system: production and quality

• Published in: Frontiers in sustainable food systems Vol. 7
• Main Authors: Prado, Laís Guerra, Costa, Kátia Aparecida de Pinho, da Silva, Luciana Maria, Costa, Adriano Carvalho, Severiano, Eduardo da Costa, Costa, João Victor Campos Pinho, Habermann, Eduardo, e Silva, João Antônio Gonçalves
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A 14-07-2023
• Subjects: crude protein; fermentation profile; fiber fraction; Panicum maximum cv. BRS Tamani; Sorghum bicolor; Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Bela
• ISSN: 2571-581X; 2571-581X
• DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.1208319

Crop–livestock integration systems are efficient technologies for diversifying production and promoting agricultural sustainability. However, less is known about the triple intercropping of crops for silage production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the dry mass production, fermentation profile, and nutritive value of sorghum silage intercropped with Tamani guinea grass and
Stylosanthes
cv. Bela in integrated systems. We used an experimental design with randomized blocks with four replicates. The treatments consisted of silage of (1) sorghum in monocropped; (2) Tamani guinea grass in monocropped (
Panicum maximum
cv. BRS Tamani); (3)
Stylosanthes
cv. Bela in monocropped (
Stylosanthes guianensis
cv. BRS Bela); (4) sorghum intercropped with Tamani guinea grass; (5) sorghum intercropped with
Stylosanthes
cv. Bela; (6)
Stylosanthes
cv. Bela intercropped with Tamani guinea grass; and (7) sorghum intercropped with Tamani guinea grass and
Stylosanthes
cv. Bela, totaling 28 experimental silos. Our results demonstrated that intercropping sorghum with tropical forages can be utilized in integrated silage production systems. This practice led to an increase in silage mass production per unit area while also providing pasture forage after the crop harvest for silage production, ultimately enhancing land-use efficiency in a sustainable manner. Silage produced from sorghum intercropped with Tamani guinea grass and
Stylosanthes
cv. Bela exhibited improved fermentative characteristics, as well as higher ether extract and total digestible nutrient contents compared with silage from monocropped forages. Tropical forages contributed to an increase in the crude protein content of monocropped sorghum silage, which could potentially reduce costs associated with acquiring protein salts for ruminant feed supplementation. Consequently, we recommend the triple intercropping of sorghum, Tamani guinea grass, and Bela for silage production, as it offers advantages for the cultivation of annual and tropical forage crops.