Indian Journal of Animal Nutrition

Mature poplar leaves, collected during normal shattering period, were ensiled with paddy straw and water in the ratio 7:1:1 supplemented with 3% barley grain. The silage thus prepared had pH 4.2 and lactic acid 2.52% on fresh basis. In order to assess nutritive value of such silage, 12 adult sheep were divided into two groups of 6 each and fed silage (T₁) or oat hay (T₂). The proximate nutrient composition (%) of silage and oat hay was, DM 49.20 and 91.40; OM 87.00 and 91.05; CP 9.87 and 5.35; CF 21.87 and 29.12, EE 2.18 and 1.22 and NFE 51.08 and 5536, respectively on DM basis. The silage had 5.40% DCP and 42.18% TDN as compared to 1.85% DCP and 49.26% TDN in oat hay on DM basis. DM and ME intake from silage and oat hay were 62.33 and 70.45 g and 98.9 and 128.9 Kcal/W^0.75 respectively. Both the groups showed positive nitrogen balance but the group maintained on silage lost body weight by 4.4 Kg during a period of 52 d. In general pH NH₃-N total-N and molar proportion of volatile fatty acids were similar in both the groups except a lower (P<0.05)C₂:C₃ ratio in silage group. NH₃-N and Urea-N in blood in both the groups were similar hut, glucose (P<0.05) and cholesterol (P<0.01) levels were higher in the silage fed group (T₁). Results indicated that adult sheep could not be maintained solely on silage from mature fallen poplar leaves prepared as given above.