Influence of Different Carbohydrate Sources and Fermentation Duration on the Physical and Chemical Quality of Trembesi Leaf Silage

The availability of forage throughout the year is crucial, and therefore, efforts are needed to preserve forage through silage. Silage is a forage preservation technology that utilizes microbial activity to enhance the quality of the forage as animal feed. Trembesi is a perennial plant with a high protein content and abundant availability. However, high-protein feed materials can hinder the ensilage process. The aim of this study is to determine the physical and chemical quality of Trembesi leaf silage with the addition of different carbohydrate sources and ensiling durations, evaluated through in vitro analysis. The treatments applied in this study involved using various carbohydrate sources and different ensiling durations in the production of Trembesi leaf silage. A completely randomized design with a factorial pattern was used, where the first factor was the use of five different carbohydrate sources (bran, broken rice, molasses, cassava flour, and corn flour), and the second factor was the different ensiling durations (0, 7, 14, and 21 days). The parameters observed included physical quality (color, aroma, and texture), chemical quality (DM, OM, CP, CF, EE, ash, NFE, TDN, and lactic acid production). The conclusion of this study is that the addition of molasses as a carbohydrate source to Trembesi leaf silage ensiled for 21 days resulted in the best physical and chemical quality. Keywords: Animal feed, forage, ruminant farming, carbohydrate sources, chemical quality, fermentation duration, lactic acid bacteria, Samanea saman .