The effectiveness of chemical additives on fermentation profiles, aerobic stability and in vitro ruminal digestibility of total mixed ration ensiled with Napier grass and wet distillers’ grains in southeast China

Chemical additives have been widely used to restrain the growth of undesirable microorganisms, and they were ideal additives to well preserve silages. The work aimed at evaluating the effects of four chemical additives on fermentation quality, aerobic stability and in vitro ruminal digestibility of the fermented total mixed ration (FTMR). The TMR was treated with: (1) no additive (control); (2) sodium diacetate; (3) calcium propionate; (4) sodium benzoate (SB); (5) potassium sorbate (PS) on a fresh weight (FW) basis. After 60 days of ensiling, the silos were opened and sampled to determine fermentation quality, in vitro rumen parameters, and then the 60-day FTMR were subjected to a 9-day aerobic stability test. Chemical additives significantly (p