• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.942-946
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• 2004

This study aimed to examine the fermentation quality of a tropical Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpuereum) and temperate Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) forages ensiled additive of fermented juice of epiphytic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and to determine what factor affects the fermentation characteristics of the crops. In both species cell walls neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents in silages were consistently decreased (p<0.05) with the addition of FJLB at ensiling more then Control treatment. The FJLB additive increased number of LAB (cfu) and lactate concentration in the silages in both species. The Control treatment without additive underwent a clostridial type of fermentation with traces of propionic, iso-butyric, n-butyric acids contents with higher (p<0.01) levels of volatile basic nitrogen (VBN %TN) and had appreciable decreased of nutrient in silages. FJLB treatment improved silage nutritive value with little contents of VBN %TN, ethanol and very small amount of dry matter (DM) and hemicellulose losses (p<0.05) between 2 to 5% and 7 to 3% respectively, in Elephant grass and Italian ryegrass species. The results in this study indicates that while among the factors affecting silage fermentation butyric type of fermentation was more pronounced in tropical elephant grass compared to the temperate Italian ryegrass, FJLB additive revealed a better silage fermentation products in both species.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.103-114
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• 1994

Pearl millet is a $C_4$ plant and summer crop originated from west Africa, and the sixth most important cereal in the world and the most widely cultivated millet in the semi-arid tropics as a major staple food crop. Its grain of higher quality protein is used to make unleavened bread chapatis and prepared as gruel, dumplings, couscous and beer. It is also used as animal feed and forage in both temperate and tropical regions because it has a capability to grow well not only in the fertile soil, but also in the poor and dry soil. Most of the current breeding procedures used in pearl millet are aimed at maximum exploitation of hybrid vigor for both grain and forage yields in Korea. Pearl millet is ideally suited for exploitation of heterosis using cytoplasmic male sterile lines as seed parent, and fertile inbred lines and open-pollinated cultivars as pollen parent. Pearl millet hybrids developed in Korea produced 3 to 7 tons of grain and 100 to 150 tons of green fodder per hectare.