The Effects of Biscuit on Fermentation Characteristics, Aerobic Stability and In Vitro Organic Matter Digestibility of Alfalfa Silage

This study was conducted to determine the effects of addition of expired biscuit to alfalfa silage on silage quality, fermentation characteristics, aerobic stability and in vitro organic matter digestion. In the study, the silage group without additives constituted the control group, while the silages prepared by adding 1% biscuit, 2% biscuit and 4% biscuit constituted the experimental groups. Silages were opened after 70 days ensiling. There were significant differences among groups for dry matter (DM), ash, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), pH, carbon dioxide (CO2) formation, in vitro organic matter digestion (IVOMD), metabolizable energy (ME) and in vitro methane gas (CH4) values of silages. The silage pH range of all silage groups was 5.12-5.82. When the CO2 formation amounts of the silage groups were compared with the control group silages, it was determined that the amount of CO2 released in the silages with increasing amounts of biscuits decreased (P