The objective of this trial was to evaluate the chemical composition and fungal microbiota of different proportions of elephantgrass and mesquite pod silages: 100:0, 67:33, 34:66, and 0:100, respectively. A complete randomized design with four replications per treatment was used. The material was ensiled in PVC silos and remained sealed during a 120-days period. After opening the silos, silage samples were collected followed by fungi isolation and identification and determination of the chemical composition of the silages. Addition of mesquite pod to elephantgrass silage decreased linearly the contents of NDF, ADF, and ash while the opposite was observed for DM. A total of 490 colony forming units (CFU) was isolated per gram of material and showed the following distribution: 68, 101, 261, and 58 CFU/g of silage, respectively, on 100:0, 67:33, 34:66, and 0:100 treatments. Increasing the proportions of mesquite pod in the silo changed the fungi microbiota of the silages. For instance, in the treatment containing only mesquite pod silage, a greater diversity of fungi species was observed despite the lower number of CFU/g of material. Conversely, the treatment with 66% of mesquite pod showed greater fungi growth and lesser fungi species variety.
additive; chemical composition; moulds; Prosopis juliflora pods; silos
