27/11/2018
MAKING LIVESTOCK SILAGE FROM WATER HYACINTH
Water hyacinth is rich in Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium as well as other plant nutrients.
Silage is made by combining wilted water hyacinth with 10% maize bran and allowing the mixture to ferment for 20 days.
The finished product is golden brown in colour, sweet smelling, readily acceptable to cattle and may be stored for long periods without loss of quality.
The process is as follows:
* Take fresh hyacinth from a clean water body. The roots should removed and may be dried to be used as an ingredient in potting soil
* Chop the shoots of the plant (leaves, petioles, and rhizome) into pieces and air dry. Drying a large pile requires about two days until the leaves and stalks are just beginning to wilt.
* Mix thoroughly the plant pieces with maize bran in the ratio of 11:1 respectively; making sure the bran coats the pieces evenly. This will not be possible if the water hyacinth is too dry. In such a case, sprinkle some water over the water hyacinth and re-mix the materials together.
* Tightly pack the mixture into a large, air-tight plastic bag and close bag with string or wire. Squeeze out any remaining air when tying the plastic bag.
* Stack 3 to 4 bags in an upside-down position. This minimizes the entry of air from any tears in the plastic bags.
* Place the bags away from the sun or cover with a non-transparent sheet. It is normal for the bags to feel warm to the touch after three days or so. The contents will turn from green to olive to brown during the first week.
* The silage is ready for use after 14 to 20 days and can be stored for several months without loss of quality.
Uses of Water Hyacinth Silage:
* This silage is used as a feed supplement.
* Cattle, pigs, goats and rabbits are well suited for it, but poultry does not do to well.
* The silage is approximately 20% dry matter.
* The dry matter contains 13% crude protein, 20% acid detergent fibre, 0.4% calcium and 0.8% phosphorus.
* Silage may be prepared by substituting molasses for maize brain but the resulting feed is lower in dry matter and crude protein. The silage resulting without addition of either maize bran or molasses has poor nutritional value and storage characteristics.
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