In order to evaluate the in situ digestibility of fibrous fractions of silages of six sorghum genotypes in different stages of maturation, four fistulated male crossbred Holstein-Zebu bovines fed with grass hay ad libitum were used. Silages samples were dried and milled and then placed in nylon bags and introduced into the rumen through the fistulas. After different times of incubation (6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours later), the nylon bags were removed, the samples from the same genotype, animal and time of incubation were transformed into a homogenous pool and milled, and then stored for further analysis of fibrous fractions. It was used the split-plot design, in which the parcels were the silages of different genotypes, the sub-parcels were the periods of harvesting and the sub-sub-parcels were the periods of incubation. In the period 1, except at 6, 24 and 96 hours of incubation, no differences among hybrids related to the NDF mean disappearance were found. In the period 2, differences among hybrids just after 12 and 96 hours of incubation, and in the period 3, just after 12 hours of incubation were found. There was stabilization of the fermentative processes from the 72 hours period ahead, except in the BR 304 hybrid at the periods 1 and 3 and BRS 701 at the period 3. No differences among hybrids related to the ADF mean disappearance at any time, except for the 96 hours period in period 1 and the 72 hours period in period 3 were observed. The degradation graphics demonstrate a stabilization tendency of the fermentative process at the 72 hours period, except for the BR 304 hybrid in the period 1 and the BRS 701 hybrid in the period 3. The percentage of grains in silages did not influence the disappearance of the fibrous fractions. However, the stage of maturation of the plant influenced the effective degradability of fibrous fractions, benefiting early stages.
Silage; sorghum; in situ digestibility; fibrous fractions
