Determination of the best conditions for compression in the production of complete feed blocks based on strawberry forage and chickpea straw

The effects of two levels of hydraulic pressure (220 and 240 bar) and two dwell times (five and 10 seconds) in the machine for making complete feed blocks containing three combinations of forages (wheat straw and alfalfa hay (WB); strawberry forage, wheat straw and alfalfa hay (SB); chickpea straw and alfalfa hay (CB)) was studied on the physical properties of the blocks in a 2×2×3 3 factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design. The blocks containing pea straw and alfalfa had the maximum moisture evaporation at 240 bar pressure and 5 and 10 seconds stop time (P<0.05). The highest density was related to the blocks SB (552.6 kg/m3) and the lowest was related to the blocks CB (456.6 kg/m3; P<0.05). With increasing pressure and dwell time, the density of SB and CB increased compared to the WB. The highest post compression expansion was observed in the first 24 hours after production (P<0.05). The SB had a maximum number of fungal colonies at 240 bar and a dwell time of 5 and 10 seconds. Regardless of the type of forage and dwell time, SB and WB had a higher colony at 240 than at 220 bar, but in CB at 240 was less than 220 bar. Based on the results, 240 bar pressure and 10 seconds dwell time to produce complete feed blocks containing strawberry forage and chickpea straw, causes the desired compression and increases the storage time of the block.