Precious Ijeoma OJEI

The persistent challenge of feed scarcity, especially in regions with seasonal droughts, underscores the critical need to convert abundant agricultural residues into sustainable livestock feed. Despite being a widely accessible agricultural by-product, maize cobs are not very useful due to their high fiber content and poor digestion. This study sought to determine how the chemical and physical composition of the maize cobs were affected by ensiling with different volume of wood ash extract for 21 days. Four treatments were evaluated: T1 (UMC): Untreated maize cob (control); T2 (WMC): maize cob soaked in water; T3 (MCWAE250ml): maize cob ensiled with 250ml WAE; T4 (MCWAE500ml): maize cob ensiled with 500ml WAE. Results indicated that ensiling, particularly with WAE, significantly altered the nutritional profile. T2 showed the highest Crude Protein (CP=5.53%), a substantial increase from the control (T1, CP=3.21%). Fiber analysis revealed that the higher WAE volume in T4 effectively reduced Crude Fibre (CF=25.37%) compared to T1 (CF=30.42%) and T3 (CF=39.87%). Mineral analysis demonstrated that WAE enrichment significantly increased key minerals; T3 had the highest Calcium (Ca=128.30 mg/100g) and Zinc (Zn=2.05 mg/100g), while T2 recorded the highest Nitrogen (N=893.50 mg/100g). Physical properties improved, with T4 exhibiting a dark brown colour and less abrasive texture deemed desirable for silage. The study concludes that ensiling maize cobs with wood ash extract, particularly at 250ml (T3), optimally enhances the mineral profile (Ca, Zn) and at 500ml (T4) reduces fiber content, converting them into a digestible, nutrient-rich, and stable feed, thereby presenting a practical method for agricultural waste recycling