Membership function analysis for concentrate-to-forage ratio and ensiling time in total mixed ration fermentation

This experiment investigated the effects of concentrate-to-forage ratios on fermentation quality and nutrition composition of fermentation total mixed ration (FTMR) at different ensiling times. Four kinds of alfalfa-based FTMR were used in a two-factor, completely randomized design. FTMR-1 and FTMR-2 were a 40 ꞉ 60 concentrate-to-forage ratio, FTMR-3 and FTMR-4 were a 50 ꞉ 50 concentrate-to-forage ratio. Three ensiling time points were set for 15, 30, and 60 days. The results showed the following: 1) the pH of FTMR-1 and FTMR-4 decreased first and then stabilized with the extension of storage time; and the contents of lactic acid (LA) and acetic acid (AA) in FTMR were gradually increased. After 60 days of ensiling, the ammonia nitrogen (AN) of FTMR-4 was significantly lower than that of FTMR-2 (P < 0.05), and no butyric acid (BA) was detected at each fermentation time point. 2) Ensiling time extension, the nutrient composition of each FTMR was retained. 3) By principal component analysis, the overall ranking of FTMR after 15 d of ensiling was FTMR-1 > FTMR-3 > FTMR-4 = FTMR-2, the overall ranking of FTMR after 30 d of ensiling was FTMR-3 > FTMR-1 > FTMR-4 > FTMR-2, and the overall ranking of FTMR after 60 d of ensiling was FTMR-3 > FTMR-1 = FTMR-4 > FTMR-2. In conclusion, FTMR with different concentrate ratios had good quality after ensiling for 15, 30, and 60 days, and it was recommended to reduce the protein content of roughage to ensure the storage quality when designing diets with high roughness ratios and to increase the protein content of roughage to save costs and efficiently design diets with low roughness ratios.