Effect of ground corn, grass meal, and Lactobacillus on fermentation quality of tamato pulp silage

The objective of the study is to evaluate the optimal method for potato pulp silage (Solanum tuberosum) preparation. Three mixing treatments were performed with pure potato pulp (PP), potato pulp mixed with ground corn (PC), or with oat hay meal (PG). Lactobacillus (LAB) was added or not added during silage making. Distilled water was added as a control (CK). The silage samples were collected for further analysis after 30 days. The following results were obtained. 1) The crude protein (CP) contents of PG treatment were significantly reduced compared to PG and PP treatments (P < 0.05), while no significant difference was observed between PP and PC treatments (P > 0.05). 2) The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) contents of PP, PC, and PG treatments were significantly higher than CK (P < 0.05). After adding LAB, the contents of NDF in PP and PC treatments and the contents of ADF in PG treatment were significantly lower than CK (P < 0.05). The highest NDF and ADF contents were shown in PG treatment (P < 0.05). 3) The relative feed value (RFV) of PP and PC treatments was significantly higher than PG (P < 0.05). 4) Compared with the original sample of potato starch residue, the variation in pH of silage samples decreased, and the lactic acid content increased significantly (P < 0.05). The pH of PC silage was significantly lower than that of PP and PG silage. After adding LAB, the pH of PC silage and the propionate contents of PG silage decreased, and the total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) contents of PG silage increased significantly (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the optimum silage treatment for potato pulp is to mix with ground corn. The addition of LAB can promote the silage fermentation quality.