Effect of addition of molasses, urea, NaOH and lime on chemical composition and digestibility (In Vitro) of eggplant during ensiling

This study was conducted to investigate the chemical changes, digestibility (In Vitro) and ensiling of eggplant. Eggplant plants were chopped to 4-3 cm and then ensiled in plastic buckets. experiment were performed as a completely randomized design with 6 treatments and 4 replicates as follows: (1) control (2) ensiling of eggplant with 2% urea (3) ensiling of eggplant with 2% sodium hydroxide (4) ensiling of eggplant with 2% lime (5) ensiling of eggplant with 2% molasses - dry weight basis (6) ensiling of eggplant with 4% molasses – fresh weight basis. All treatments in terms of color, smell, texture and appearance were evaluated. Results shown that adding 4% molasses decreased pH from 4.99 to 3.28 (p<0.05). Silage chemical analysis showed that the highest amount of crude protein (20.99%) were related to the urea treatment (p<0.05) and dry matter digestibility was higher in the treatment of molasses, 4% (60.30%) (p<0.05), although this number is associated with the urea treatment was not significantly different. The results showed that treatment of eggplant with 4% molasses in the best silage between treatments.