Replacing Alfalfa with Paper Mulberry in Total Mixed Ration Silages: Effects on Ensiling Characteristics, Protein Degradation, and In Vitro Digestibility

To develop an alternative high-protein forage resource to alleviate ruminant feed shortages, we investigated the effects of replacing alfalfa (<i>Medicago sativa</i> L.) with different ratios of paper mulberry (<i>Broussonetia papyrifera</i> L., RY) on fermentation quality, protein degradation, and in vitro digestibility of total mixed ration (TMR) silage. The TMR were made with alfalfa and RY mixtures (36.0%), maize meal (35.0%), oat grass (10.0%), soybean meal (7.5%), brewers’ grain (5.0%), wheat bran (5.0%), premix (1.0%), and salt (0.5%) on a dry matter basis, respectively. The alfalfa and RY mixtures were made in the following ratios of dry matter: 36:0 (RY0), 27:9 (RY9), 18:18 (RY18), 9:27 (RY27), and 0:36 (RY36). After ensiling for 7, 14, 28, and 56 days, fermentation quality, protein degradation, and microbial counts were examined, and chemical composition and in vitro digestibility were analyzed after 56 days of ensiling. All TMR silages, irrespective of the substitution level of RY, were well preserved with low pH and ammonia nitrogen content, high lactic acid content, and undetectable butyric acid. After ensiling, the condensed tannin content for RY18 silages was higher than the control, but non-protein nitrogen, peptide nitrogen, and free amino acid nitrogen contents was lower, while the fraction B1 (buffer-soluble protein) was not different among all the silages. Dry matter and crude protein digestibility for RY27 and RY36 silages was lower than the control, but there was no difference between control and RY18 silages. This study suggested that ensiling RY with alfalfa inhibited true protein degradation, but decreased in vitro dry matter and crude protein digestibility of TMR silages, and that 18:18 is the optimal ratio.