Effect of cheese whey as an additive of pasture silages on conservation, soluble sugars and in vitro gas production

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to determine the effect of cheese whey addition on the conservation, water soluble carbohydrates concentration and in vitro gas production of pasture silages. Silages made from three different pastures added with sugar cane molasses and three levels of cheese whey were evaluated. In vitro gas production was fitted to an exponential model. All silages showed good quality characteristics, but the use of additives lead to lower pH (P=0.035). Molasses addition was associated with higher residual water-soluble carbohydrates amount (P<0,001). Two percent cheese whey addition determined lower “a” (P<0.001), higher “b” (P=0.010) and “a+b” (P=0.042) than the other silages with cheese whey. Highest gas production rate was obtained with fresh pastures, followed by silages with molasses, 10 % cheese whey, 5 %, 2 % and finally silages without additives. It was concluded that the use of cheese whey as an additive allowed well-conserved pasture silages to be obtained, with higher gas production rates than silages without additives. Two percent cheese whey addition determined a higher potential gas production from total fermentable substrates.