Fermentation parameters and nutritional value of silages from fodder mallow ( <i>Malva verticillata</i> L.), white sweet clover ( <i>Melilotus albus</i> Medik.), and their mixtures

Abstract The goal of this experiment was to compare fermentation parameters and the nutritional value of silages made of fodder mallow ( Malva verticillata L.), white sweet clover ( Melilotus albus Medik.), and their mixtures. Chopped plants of Malva verticillata L., Melilotus albus Medik., and Malva verticillata L./ Melilotus albus Medik. were used to prepare silages in the ratios of 1:0, 3:7, 1:1, 7:3, and 0:1, respectively. The crops were harvested at BBCH 51–61 vegetation stage (formation of flowers → flowering) with the stand height at harvest being 75 cm; a stubble height after the harvest was 8 cm. Fermentation parameters of the silage process, composition of carbohydrate fibre complex, concentration of nutrients, metabolizable energy (ME3×), net energy for lactation (NEL3×), protein fractions, and rumen non-degraded proteins (RUP5) were evaluated. Due to the low dry matter content and higher degree of proteolysis in the Malva verticillata L. silage ( P &lt; 0.001), the concentration of ammonia (NH 3 ) was significantly higher than in the Melilotus albus Medik. variant. Differences in the concentrations of ME3× and NEL3× between silages from solitary Malva verticillata L. and Melilotus albus Medik. were significant, respectively, but low. The nutritional value of silages from both evaluated alternative crops and their mixtures represented by NEL3× and RUP5 concentrations is comparable to the nutritional value of silages from the conventional forages mentioned in feed databases.