074-2020

Livestock Research for Rural

Development

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into sustainable developing world agriculture

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Volume 32, On-line Edition

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Issue 5 (May)

ISSN 0121-3784
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Livestock Research for Rural Development, Volume 32, Number 5, May 2020 ISSN 0121-3784

Contents
Papers:
69. Growth performance of crossbred ducks fed fresh sea fish by-product replacing fish
meal; Nguyen Thuy Linh, Nguyen Thi Kim Dong and Nguyen Van Thu

70. Effect of contrasting sources of carbohydrate (sugar or starch) and bypass protein
(leaf meal from sweet or bitter cassava) on methane production in a rumen in vitro
incubation; Phuong Le Thuy Binh, T R Preston and R A Leng

71. Genetic polymorphism detection of Casein genes in Albanian local sheep breeds;
Vilson Bozgo, Anila Hoda, Lorena Hysi and Lumturi Papa

72. Use of cashew apple fruit silage in the cattle fattening diet; Vu Anh Tai, Bui Quang
Tuan, Tran Thi Thuy Van and Nguyen Xuan Trach

73. Evaluation of three pruning methods of Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) Gray under
grazing conditions; Idalmis Rodríguez, C Padilla and Verena Torres (In Spanish)

74. Growth response and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens fed dried cashew
(Anacardium occidentale L.) apple pulp in replacement for maize; I K Yisa and O G
Longe

75. Genetic polymorphisms of milk genes (β-lactoglobulin and κ-casein) in indigenous

Awassi and improved Awassi sheep of Palestine; F S Rashaydeh, N Sholi and R M
Al-Atiyat

76. Genetic and non-genetic effect on fertility trait of different ram breeds reared in the
highland of North-Shewa, Ethiopia; Shenkute Goshme, Sandip Banerjee, Mourad
Rekik, Aynalem Haile and Tesfaye Getachew

77. Impact assessment of improved chicken genetics on livelihoods and food security of
smallholder poultry farmers in Nigeria; O O Alabi, F O Ajayi, O Bamidele, A
Yakubu, E U Ogundu, E B Sonaiya, M A Ojo, W A Hassan and O A Adebambo

78. Heat stress under different climate conditions for dairy livestock in Benin, West
Africa; J S Adjassin, S A Assani, B G C Assogba, Y Idrissou, H S S Worogo, J O
Daramola and I T Alkoiret

79. Culturing tiny rotifer Brachionus angularis with Chlorella; Nguyen Huu Yen Nhi,
Nguyen Thi Bich Hanh and Trinh Thi Lan
 Livestock Research for Rural Development 32 LRRD LRRD Guide for preparation of LRRD Citation of this
(5) 2020 Search Misssion papers Newsletter paper

Effects of wilting and rice bran supplementation on the quality of taro

(Colocasia esculenta) leaf and petiole silage
Lam Thai Hung, Ly Thi Thu Lan, Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, Nguyen Thiet1, Trinh Thi Hong
Mo2, Nguyen Thi Hong Nhan3 and Nguyen Trong Ngu3
School of Agriculture and Aquaculture, Tra Vinh University, 126 Nguyen Thien Thanh, Tra Vinh City, Vietnam
ntngu@ctu.edu.vn
1 Collegeof Rural Development, Can Tho University, 3/2 Street, Can Tho City, Vietnam
2 Applied Biology Faculty, Tay Do University, Can Tho City, Vietnam
3 College of Agriculture, Can Tho University, 3/2 Street, Can Tho City, Vietnam

074-2020
Abstract

This study was carried out to determine how wilting and supplementation of rice bran (10% and 20%)
would affect the ensiling characteristics of taro petioles and leaves (TPL).

Samples were collected and measured for pH, dry matter, ammonia, oxalate, and organic acids on days 1, 7,
14, 21, 30, 45, and 60 of ensiling. It was shown that wilted TPL silage was high in dry matter (DM) and
crude protein (CP) but low in oxalate content compared to fresh TPL silage. The addition of 20% rice bran
in fresh TPL resulted in high fermentation quality with higher DM content and consistently low oxalate
compared to TPL added with 10% or without supplementation. This result implies that TPL should be
wilted before ensiling or should be ensiled with 20% of rice bran for better silage quality.

Keywords: ensiling, fermentation, oxalate, lactic acid

Introduction

In the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, Dong Thap province has the biggest area for growing taro (Colocasia
esculenta) as tubers for human consumption. This province has 1,338 hectares for taro production, annually
producing 50,000 tonnes of leaves and petioles after harvesting tubers (Tri 2019). Taro petioles and leaves
(TPL) have a high nutritional content with crude protein (CP) ranging from 19.5 to 26% for leaves and 6.2
to 7.3% for petioles (Hang and Preston 2010). However, TPL also contain high levels of calcium oxalate
which causes irritation (Nhan et al 2011); and to overcome this problem some processing methods have
been applied including drying, cooking, and ensiling. A previous study found that ensiling can decrease
calcium oxalate content up to 50% and reduce negative effects from oral irritation (Hang and Preston 2010).
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of wilting TPL and rice bran levels on quality and
chemical composition of TPL silage.

Materials and methods

The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 4 replicates.
Before ensiling, the ratio of materials was calculated as a dry matter ratio. The treatments were as follows:

Treatment 1 (F): 100% fresh TPL

Treatment 2 (W): 100% wilted TPL (30-40% DM)

Treatment 3 (Rb10F): 89.5% fresh TPL + 10% Rb + 0.5% salt

Treatment 4 (Rb20F): 79.5% fresh TPL + 20% Rb + 0.5% salt

Taro petioles and leaves, after being harvested, were chopped into small pieces (2 to 4 cm long). After that,
taro was ensiled either fresh or wilted under sunshine (to 30-40% DM). The other treatments were addition
of rice bran (10% and 20%, DM basis) with 0.5% salt. The mixtures were packed into polyethylene bags of
5 kg capacity with air removed from the bags. During storage, the bags were checked regularly and, if found
to be loose, would be re-opened, made compact and re-tied.

Silage samples were collected on days 1, 7, 14, 21, 30, 45, and 60 during the ensiling process. All samples
were divided into two parts; the first part was immediately measured (fresh) for pH, ammonia, lactic acid
(LA), and acetic acid (AA) according to AOAC (2005) and oxalate content according to the method of
Savage et al (2000); the second part was dried in an oven at 65oC until the weight was stabilised and then
analysed for CP and ash according to AOAC (2005).

Statistical analysis

The data were subjected to analysis of variance using the General Linear Model procedure of Minitab
software version 16.2.1.

Results and discussion

Initially the CP and oxalate of TPL were 13.7% and 5.68%, respectively (Table 1).
Table 1. Chemical composition of silage ingredients
% DM
Ingredients
DM, % CP Ash Oxalate
Taro petiole and leaf 9.32 13.7 16.4 5.68
Rice bran 91.2 16.5 7.80 -

The pH and oxalate of taro silage declined, but ammonia, LA, and AA dramatically increased over the 60-
day period (Table 2). On day 14, the pH of all treatments dropped dramatically below 4.2 and stabilised until
the 60th day of ensiling. Decreased pH values due to increasing LA indicated good quality of silage. For the
conversion of pyruvate to lactate, the concentration of LA and AA increased with a decreased pH that
inhibited the aerobic respiration of plant cells and microbial activity, which otherwise lead to negative
effects on silage (Rooke and Ronald 2003). According to Muck (2010), a successful fermentation is
recognised by the number of LA-producing bacteria that dominate under anaerobic conditions, which is in
agreement with the present study. The increased LA content over time had led to a decreased pH, which, in
addition to the activity of lactic bacteria, may also involve other microorganisms such as probiotics and
fungi that activated changes in soluble carbohydrates to LA, AA, and other organic acids inhibiting harmful
bacteria and enzymes (Russell and Diez-Gonzalez 1997).

These findings were similar to those reported by Tu et al (2014), who found that pH values in the first week
of the ensiling process remarkedly decreased as the speed of fermentation happened immediately after
ensiling. This is an important period because with neutral pH, harmful bacteria can develop, thereby
destroying the ensiling materials over the following two to three weeks. Furthermore, this also eliminates
the development of mold and prevents the decrease of CP content in silage (Muck 1988). Changes in pH in
the present study were similar to the conclusion of Moran (2005), that the silage process succeeds when the
pH of silage is between 3.5 and 4.5.
 Table 2. Effect of wilting and rice bran levels on ensiling characteristics of Taro petiole and leaf
Days of ensiling
Parameters SEM p
1 7 14 21 30 45 60
pH
F 5.42a 4.36b 3.68c 3.69c 3.57c 3.41c 3.52c 0.09 0.001
W 5.59a 4.23b 3.77b 3.75b 3.55b 3.50b 3.58b 0.16 0.001
Rb10F 5.09a 4.12b 3.50bc 3.29bc 3.36bc 3.20c 3.14c 0.20 0.001
Rb20F 5.17a 4.67b 3.60c 3.48cd 3.44cd 3.33d 3.36d 0.04 0.001
Dry matter (%)
F 10.5a 9.5ab 9.4ab 8.7b 8.8b 8.6b 7.2c 0.27 0.001
W 50.4a 47.5b 43.1c 40.0d 39.9d 38.6de 36.6e 0.47 0.001
Rb10F 17.8a 16.9ab 15.8abc 15.1bc 14.8c 14.0c 13.9c 0.48 0.001
Rb20F 26.2a 24.2ab 23.3bc 22.1bc 21.7c 18.9d 18.6d 0.47 0.001
Crude protein (% of DM)
F 12.9 12.0 12.2 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.3 0.45 0.902
W 13.1 13.5 13.4 13.7 13.3 13.0 13.3 0.69 0.991
Rb10F 13.7 13.3 13.7 13.6 13.8 13.5 13.1 0.26 0.380
Rb20F 13.2 12.7 13.3 13.7 13.3 13.1 13.3 0.24 0.185
Ammonia (% of DM)
F 0.62d 1.25c 1.54ab 1.58a 1.58ab 1.54b 1.57ab 0.01 0.001
W 0.64c 0.93b 1.13ab 1.23a 1.28a 1.29a 1.34a 0.05 0.001
Rb10F 0.63c 0.89bc 1.17ab 1.25a 1.33a 1.31a 1.42a 0.07 0.001
Rb20F 0.60c 0.92bc 1.16ab 1.25ab 1.22ab 1.31ab 1.40a 0.09 0.001
Oxalate (% of DM)
F 6.14a 4.95b 3.97c 3.62cd 3.24d 3.36d 3.22d 0.09 0.001
W 6.01a 4.77b 3.35c 3.21c 2.56c 2.57c 2.67c 0.19 0.001
Rb10F 5.26a 4.26b 3.17c 2.89cd 2.78cd 2.28d 2.29d 0.17 0.001
Rb20F 4.19a 3.69a 2.83b 2.22b 2.29b 2.35b 2.34b 0.18 0.001
Lactic acid (% of DM)
F 1.53c 1.53c 2.04b 2.19b 3.43a 3.43a 3.39a 0.04 0.001
W 1.64c 2.14c 3.23b 3.90ab 4.30a 4.40a 4.38a 0.17 0.001
Rb10F 1.42d 2.69c 3.50b 4.41a 4.24ab 4.76a 4.78a 0.18 0.001
Rb20F 1.57d 2.57c 3.34bc 3.98ab 3.90ab 4.40a 4.71a 0.21 0.001
Acetic acid (% of DM)
F 0.84c 0.84c 0.84c 0.95b 0.95b 1.02a 1.07a 0.02 0.001
W 0.81c 0.90c 0.91b 1.41a 1.45a 1.55a 1.58a 0.20 0.030
Rb10F 0.97b 1.09ab 1.30ab 1.49ab 1.54ab 1.61ab 1.77a 0.16 0.015
Rb20F 1.05b 1.11ab 1.37ab 1.44ab 1.52ab 1.59ab 1.66a 0.13 0.012
F: 100% fresh taro leaf and petiole; W: 100% wilting leaf and petiole (30-40% of DM); Rb10F: 89.5% of fresh taro leaf
and petiole + 10% rice bran + 0.5% salt; Rb20F: 79.5% of fresh taro leaf and petiole + 20% rice bran + 0.5% salt

The DM content of taro silage in all treatments decreased with the time of ensiling (Figure 1b). These results
concur with the report of Malavanh et al (2008) that DM of taro leaves declined when ensiling with sugar
cane molasses. On the contrary, CP concentration of silage remained unchanged. Previously, the findings of
An and Lindberg (2004) showed that CP concentration tended to slow down by 0.7 to 1.3% after 56 days of
ensiling while Lin et al (1988) stated that the nutritional values of silage including ME, fatty acids, and
amino acids did not change during ensiling. Ammonia of the silage dramatically increased after 30 days
because TPL protein was broken down into amino acids, amines and ammonia. This result was in agreement
with the conclusions of Kinh et al (1997), who reported that the concentration of ammonia went up from
8.54% to 9.73% after 30 days of ensiling cashew apples and poultry litter.
 Figure 1. Effect of wilting on changes of pH (a), DM (b), CP (c), ammonia (d), oxalate (e), lactic acid (f) and acetic acid (g) of taro silage during
the ensiling period. Fresh TPL: 100% fresh taro leaf and petiole; Wilting TPL: 100% wilting leaf and petiole (30-40% of DM)

There was a dramatic decrease in the concentration of oxalate after 30 days and it was stable thereafter
because the anaerobic ensiled environment at first resulted in production inhibition of glycolate oxidase
enzymes that stopped the synthesis of oxalate. This, coupled with the decomposition of oxalate, led to a
reduction of oxalate (Rooke and Ronald 2003). The result was similar to the report of Hang and Preston
(2010), who found that oxalate decreased in ensiled TPL. A reduction of oxalate in ensiled taro leaves was
also reported previously (Malavanh et al 2008; Hang et al 2016; Hang et al 2018).

pH of both fresh and wilted TPL silage registered a fall of 2 units after 60 days. Meanwhile, the
concentration of DM, CP, LA, and AA of wilted taro were higher than those of taro silage made from fresh
taro foliage. This could be attributed to the fall in moisture percentage as a result of wilting. Also, organic
matter of wilted TPL increased, giving rise to an increase in the concentration of acetic and lactic acid.
The concentration of ammonia and oxalate in wilted TPL silage was reduced remarkedly compared to that
of fresh TPL silage. The reduction of oxalate concentration from wilting TPL silage was impacted by both
sunshine and the anaerobic ensiling environment that inhibited the synthesis of oxalate and decomposition
of oxalate. The result of Hang et al (2011) indicated that taro petioles wilted at 37-38oC for 18 hours
reduced by 14.2% the oxalate while taro petioles ensiled for 14 days reduced 36.8% of the oxalate.
According to the report of Hang et al (2013), TPL (purple stem and light green stem varieties) processed by
wilting for 18 hours caused an overall 5.9% reduction of soluble oxalates. Therefore, TPL wilted before
ensiling led to a major decline in the concentration of oxalate of TPL silage.

The results in Figure 2 indicate that DM of TPL silage with added 20% of rice bran was higher than that of
TPL silage supplemented with rice bran at 10%. However, the concentration of ammonia, oxalate, LA, and
AA of TPL silage in Rb10F and Rb20F on day 60 of ensiling were similar. Hang et al (2016) suggested that
the silage was optimal for using when oxalate no longer changed. Based on the decreased level of DM and
stability of CP, the treatment Rb20F ensiled for 30 days was considered to produce excellent silage for
animals.
 Figure 2. Effect of rice bran addition on changes of pH (a), DM (b), CP (c), ammonia (d), oxalate (e), lactic acid (f) and acetic
acid (g) of taro silage during the ensiling period. Rb10F : 10% rice bran + 89.5% of fresh taro leaf and
petiole + 0.5% salt; Rb20F : 20% rice bran + 79.5% of fresh taro leaf and petiole + 0.5% sal

Conclusions

Wilting TPL before ensiling resulted in better quality TPL silage compared with not wilting before
ensiling.

Inclusion of 20% of rice bran in silage made from fresh TPL proved to give optimal quality because of
the increase in lactic acid the decrease in oxalate.
Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the scientific research grant of Tra Vinh University.

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Received 23 March 2020; Accepted 14 April 2020; Published 1 May 2020

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