The Effect of Licorice Additional Alfalfa Silage On Silage Quality

Abstract

In this study, licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) plant was added to the alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plant, which has a high buffering capacity and is difficult to ensilage, as an easily soluble carbohydrate source in order to examine its effect on silage quality. A total of 6 different groups were formed by adding 2%, 4%, 8%, 16% and 32% licorice to alfalfa plant based on wet weight, and silage groups prepared in the study. The silages were opened at the end of the 60-day fermentation period and raw nutrient compositions and fermentation products were determined. When the effects of silages prepared by adding different levels of licorice to alfalfa plant on the nutrient value were examined, the differences between the groups in terms of dry matter, crude protein, ADF and NDF contents of the silages obtained from the study were not found statistically significant. When the pH values ​​of the silages prepared by adding licorice were examined, the lowest pH value was obtained from the silage prepared with the addition of 32% fresh licorice. When the ammonia nitrogen values ​​of the silages were examined, it was seen that the ammonia nitrogen values ​​decreased due to the increase in the fresh licorice level. The highest flieg score of 73.79 was obtained from silages prepared with the addition of 32% fresh licorice. When the physical properties (color, odor, structure) of the silages were examined, no statistical differences were found between the groups in terms of structure and color properties, while the differences between the groups in terms of odor and DLG scores were found to be statistically significant. When the average DLG score was examined, the highest was obtained from silages prepared with the addition of 32% fresh licorice. As a result, in this study, it was concluded that licorice can be added as an alternative to the silage material in order to increase the level of easily soluble carbohydrates in the environment in order to obtain quality silage from alfalfa, which is difficult to ensilage, and liquorice can be used to increase the quality of alfalfa silage.