The Chemical Composition, Fermentation End-Product of Silage, and Aerobic Stability of Cassava Pulp Fermented with <i>Lactobacillus casei</i> TH14 and Additives

This study evaluated the effects of cassava pulp fermented with <i>Lactobacillus casei</i> TH14, urea, and molasses on its chemical composition, the fermentation end-product of silage, and aerobic stability. A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with a randomized complete block design was employed. The first factor: level of <i>L. casei</i> TH14 [L; 0 and 10⁵ cfu/kg fresh matter (FM)], the second factor: level of molasses (M; 0 and 4% DM), the third factor: level of urea (U; 0 and 4% DM), and the number of days of fermentation (7, 14, and 21 days) were evaluated using a statistical block. There were interactions among CSP fermented with different additives on DM content (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The control group (CON) and CSP fermented with L, L×M, and L×U had lower DM contents than U, U×M, and L×U×M. The crude protein of CSP was increased by interaction of L×U and U×M additives (<i>p</i> < 0.05 and <i>p</i> < 0.01, respectively). Interaction effects between L and U and NDF content were detected (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The L×U combination resulted in a significantly lower NDF than the other groups. The interaction between L×U×M had no effect on the change in the CSP fermentation process (<i>p</i> > 0.05). The combination of U×M caused a poorer pH than other groups (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The ammonia-N content was higher than others, when CSP was fermented with L×U (<i>p</i> < 0.01) or U×M (<i>p</i> < 0.05), respectively. The lactic acid levels in fermented CSP were higher (<i>p</i> < 0.01) than in other groups through the <i>L. casei</i>. The interaction between L×U×M had an influence on lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and aerobic bacteria (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The highest LAB population (<i>p</i> < 0.01) at 10⁶ cfu/g FM was found in CSP fermented with <i>L. casei</i> and molasses. In conclusion, the current study shows that CSP treated with L×U×M resulted in good preservation by recovering DM, a low number of aerobic bacteria, and greater LAB than other treatments, with the exception of the L×U×M addition. A 21-day fermentation period is advised because it produces products with greater levels of crude protein, lactic acid, acetic acid, and propionic acid.