Chemical composition, fermentation characteristics and digestibility of potato haulm silage from six localities in Kerman province, Iran

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article (Regular Paper)

Authors

1 Department of Animal Science, South Kerman Agriculture Research, Education and Natural Resources Center, Kerman, Iran

2 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

3 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran

Abstract

This study evaluated the chemical composition, glycoalkaloids (GA) content, fermentation quality and in vitro digestibility of fresh and ensiled potato haulms (PoH) collected from six agro-climatically diverse locations within Kerman province (Jiroft, Anbarabad, Rudbar, Kahnuj, Faryab, and Manujan). Representative samples were collected from a single commercial field per location, chopped to 3-5 cm, vacuum-sealed in polyethylene silo bags (5 kg), and ensiled for 45 days. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with six treatments (locations) and five replications, and data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS. Location had a large effect on crude protein (CP; P<0.001), acid detergent fiber (ADF; P=0.005), water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC; P=0.05), ash (P<0.01), and GA concentrations (P=0.003) in fresh PoH, with CP varying from 17.8% to 24.0% and GA from 678 to 968 mg/kg dry matter (DM) between locations. During ensiling WSC decreased by 71% (8.20% to 2.38%; P<0.01), nitrate concentration decreased by 58% (0.703% to 0.294%; P<0.01) and total GA content decreased by 43.7% (808 to 455 mg/kg DM; P<0.01) which is the result of acidic hydrolysis and microbial degradation during fermentation. Silage fermentation was characterized by consistently high lactic acid concentrations (63.7-69.2 g/kg DM) and negligible butyric acid (<0.25 g/kg DM) across all locations, indicative of well-preserved, clostridium-free silages. DM digestibility (DMD) decreased from 60.8% to 56.6% and metabolizable energy (ME) from 2.14 to 2.00 Mcal/kg DM (P<0.01) after ensiling. The results suggest that ensiling substantially reduced antinutritional factors while maintaining the overall feeding potential of PoH, although modest reductions in DMD and ME were observed. Thus, the use of potato haulm silage as a suitable ruminant feed in semi-arid areas of Iran is recommended.

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References

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Available Online from 05 August 2026

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