Chemical, nutritive, fermentative and microbial composition of almond hull silage

Figures & data

Figure 1. The almond tree, wet almond hull (fresh), silage of almond hull (from left to right).

Table 1. Fresh amount of almond hull on total fruit (n = 50).

Indices	Results
Weight of whole fruit, g	10.47 ± 1.68
Weight of hull, g	6.56 ± 1.30
Percent of hull, %	62.48 ± 6.57

Table 2. Chemical & nutritional composition of the almond hull as fresh and silage, g kg⁻¹ (dry matter basis), unless otherwise stated.

Indices	Fresh almond hull	Silage almond hull	SEM	P
Dry matter	298.4 ± 2.7	310.6 ± 3.3	3.02	0.000
Crude protein	79.6 ± 2.9	92.5 ± 5.9	4.63	0.002
Ether extract	9.1 ± 1.0	10.4 ± 0.5	0.77	0.025
Crude ash	113.0 ± 1.5	111.3 ± 1.1	1.30	0.077
Crude fibre	175.7 ± 2.2	183.4 ± 2.9	6.10	0.081
ADF	267.6 ± 3.8	282.7 ± 2.9	3.40	0.000
NDF	339.2 ± 3.9	394.3 ± 2.7	3.89	0.000
ADICP	27.3 ± 0.3	28.7 ± 0.8	0.59	0.005
NDICP	64.2 ± 0.3	74.4 ± 13.9	9.80	0.136
Lignin	111.4 ± 0.9	122.3 ± 4.3	3.13	0.001
Starch	58.9 ± 0.8	61.6 ± 0.8	0.28	0.001
Total sugar	5.2 ± 0.2	10.1 ± 0.3	0.27	0.000
NFC	459.1 ± 7.8	391.5 ± 7.2	7.52	0.000
TDN1X	551.4 ± 3.7	521.7 ± 8.5	6.54	0.000
DDM	680.5 ± 3.0	668.8 ± 2.3	2.65	0.000
DMI % (body weight%)	3.54 ± 0.04	3.04 ± 0.03	0.04	0.000
ME (Mcal/kg)	1.96 ± 0.01	1.85 ± 0.03	0.03	0.000
NEL (Mcal/kg)	1.19 ± 0.01	1.11 ± 0.02	0.02	0.000

DM: dry matter, ADF: acid detergent fibre, NDF: neutral detergent fibre, ADICP: acid detergent insoluble crude protein, NDICP: neutral detergent insoluble crude protein, NFC: non-fibre carbohydrate, TDN_1X: total digestible nutrition, DDM: digestible dry matter, DMI: dry matter intake of body weight, ME: metabolize energy, NE_L: net enegy lactation, SEM: Standard error means.

Table 3. Mineral composition of the almond hull as fresh and silage, ppm (dry matter basis).

Indices	Fresh almond hull	Silage almond hull	SEM	P
Calcium	532.62 ± 36.73	621.36 ± 23.91	30.99	0.002
Magnesium	478.00 ± 16.92	586.25 ± 21.43	19.31	0.000
Potassium	3234.10 ± 90.10	1212.50 ± 23.90	65.90	0.000
Phosphorus	<0.03	<0.03
Sulphur	8.15 ± 0.14	11.76 ± 0.18	0.17	0.000
Sodium	156.82 ± 9.72	165.80 ± 6.63	8.32	0.126
Manganese	3.45 ± 0.03	7.85 ± 0.14	0.10	0.000
Zinc	7.70 ± 0.18	9.14 ± 0.07	0.14	0.000
Iron	8.93 ± 0.08	11.15 ± 0.14	0.12	0.000
Aluminium	8.61 ± 0.12	8.00 ± 0.09	0.11	0.000
Silicon	2.50 ± 0.04	4.41 ± 0.10	0.08	0.000
Copper	13.21 ± 0.71	16.85 ± 0.11	0.10	0.000
Chromium	<0.001	<0.001
Cobalt	<0.005	<0.005
Nickel	0.31 ± 0.11	0.40 ± 0.11	0.01	0.000
Arsenic	<0.001	<0.001
Selenium	<0.003	<0.003
Molybdenum	<0.007	<0.007
Mercury	<0.002	<0.002

Table 4. Microbiological values of almond hull silage, log cfu g⁻¹.

Indices	Results
Yeast	Not detected
Mould	Not detected
Enterobacteria	Not detected
Lactic acid bacteria	4.54 ± 0.04

Table 5. Organic acid, pH and ammonia nitrogen values of almond hull silage, g kg⁻¹ (dry matter basis).

Indices	Results
pH	5.75 ± 0.01
NH3–N	112.5 ± 1.45
Lactic acid	63.79 ± 1.83
Acetic acid	22.94 ± 1.93
Propionic acid	28.27 ± 1.01
Butyric acid	9.59 ± 0.88

Data availability statement

The data that support this study will be shared upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.