This work aimed to evaluate sugar cane bagasse from cachaça production, subjected to hay-making and ensiling. The experiment was conduced at Universidade Federal de Lavras, MG, using the completely random delineation (CRD), with seven treatment and three repetitions. The treatments were constituted of in natura sugar cane bagasse (INB), manually hayed and baled sugar cane bagasse, mechanically hayed and baled, manually baled INB and mechanically baled INB, whole ensiled INB and chopped ensiled INB. Bromatological composition, tampon capacity (TC), pH values and total sugar rate of the INB were evaluated. For the ensilage, there were used cistern silos and for the baling, manual and mechanical balers. The bagasse was baled in natura, or after reaching 89% rate of DM, according to the treatments. The evaluated characteristics were dry matter rate (DM), crude protein (CP), fiber in neutral detergent (FND), fiber in acid detergent (FAD). The results went through variance analyses and the averages were compared by the Scott - Knott test (P<0.05). The INB presented rates of 51.70% of DM; 2% of CP; 79.43% of FND; 48.78% of FAD and 16.4% of total sugar in the MS. The sugar cane bagasse presented low TC and the silage presented satisfactory pH for good conservation. The dehydration followed by the manual baling provided a decrease in the cell wall components, revealing itself as the best bagasse conservation method.
Hay; silage; sub-product
