Determination of silage quality of berseem clover (trifolium alexandrinum L.) and triticale (xtriticosecale wittmack) mixtures

This research was carried out to determine the effects of mixtures of different ratios of berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) and triticale (xTriticosecale Wittmack) on silage quality. Field study covering the cultivation of silage plants was carried out in the 2022-2023 growing period at Siirt University, Faculty of Agriculture, Research and Application Area, and studies covering the determination of silage making and silage properties were carried out at Siirt University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field Crops and laboratory. In the study, berseem clover "Derya" and triticale "Tatlıcak" varieties were used as plant material. Silage applications including berseem clover and triticale alone (100% berseem clover and 100% triticale) and binary mixture ratios (20% berseem clover + 80% triticale, 40% berseem clover + 60% triticale, 60% berseem clover + 40% triticale and 80% berseem clover + 20% triticale) were the subject of the research. In the study, physical properties such as odor, structure, color and DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts Gesellschaft) score, pH, dry matter (DM) ratio, Fleig score (FS), crude protein (CP) ratio, acid detergent fiber (ADF) ratio, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) ratio and relative feed value (RFV) were examined. In the study, no statistical difference was observed between the mixture ratios in terms of silage color; significant differences were found at p<0.05 level in terms of silage structure, p<0.01 level in terms of silage odor, DLG score, pH, DM ratio, FS, CP ratio, ADF ratio, NDF ratio and RFV. According to the mixture ratios, the silage odor score varied between 11.33-14.00, the appearance score varied between 2.67-4.00 and the color score varied between 1.00-2.00. In the study where the total physical score varied between 15.33-20.00, "good" and "very good" quality silage was obtained in terms of DLG score. In the study, according to the mixture ratios, the pH value of the silages varied between 4.62-5.98, the DM ratio between 25.46-30.31% and the FS between 16.59-80.18; according to the average results of the FS data, it was determined that the silages obtained were satisfactory. The silage CP ratio varied between 10.30-19.12%, the ADF ratio between 30.86-36.89%, the NDF ratio between 33.27-55.93% and the RFV between 100.09-180.71. According to these results, 80% berseem clover + 20% triticale mixture silage with high CP ratio, low ADF and NDF ratios and high RFV is recommended.