Nutritive value of elephantgrass silage added by-products from the cashew juice industry

This trial was conducted with the objective of evaluating the nutritive value of the silage of elephantgrass by the addition of 0, 12, 24, 36 and 48% of cashew bagasse (by-product of the cashew juice agro-industry). A completely randomized design with four replicates was used. After 82 days, the silos were opened and samples were collected for determination of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), hemicellulose (HEM), pH and levels of N-NH3 of the silage. The addition of the cashew bagasse (BC) decreased the pH and N-NH3 values and increased the PB grade of the silage. The level of ADF and HEM did not change in function of different additions. It was concluded that the cashew bagasse improves the nutritive value of the silage and provides better conservation of silage.