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Silage Quality (silage + quality)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Earth and Environmental Science	100%

Selected Abstracts

Silage quality when Moringa oleifera is ensiled in mixtures with Elephant grass, sugar cane and molasses

GRASS & FORAGE SCIENCE, Issue 4 2009
B. Mendieta-Araica
Abstract Fourteen different silages were prepared using mixtures of Moringa (Moringa oleifera), Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum cv Taiwan) or sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum). Molasses from sugar cane was used in the amounts of either 10 or 50 g kg,1 fresh matter (FM) in treatments without sugar cane. A completely randomized design with three replicates of each treatment was used. The silages were prepared in 1800 mL micro silos and opened after 120 d. The presence of Moringa and Elephant grass in the silage changed the pH by ,0·8 and +0·7, respectively (P < 0·001), indicating a favourable effect of Moringa on silage pH. Overall differences were found among treatments for dry matter content, crude protein and acetic acid concentrations, weight loss, CO2 production and silage pH after spoilage (P < 0·001). Weight loss was proportionately 0·034 and 0·014 in silages with and without sugar cane respectively (P < 0·001). Overall, differences (P < 0·05) were also found for neutral-detergent fibre and lactic acid concentrations, lactic acid bacteria counts, clostridial counts and time to spoilage of the silages. Treatments containing Moringa had higher lactic acid concentrations (+16 g kg,1 DM; P < 0·01) compared to treatments without but the presence of Moringa decreased time to spoilage by 67 h (P < 0·05). No differences were found in propionic acid concentration or fungal growth of the silages. It is concluded that Moringa can be used as a component of high quality silages which also contain high concentrations of crude protein. [source]

Ensilage of wilted whole crop rice (Oryza sativa L.) using a roll baler for chopped material: Silage quality in long-term storage

GRASSLAND SCIENCE, Issue 2 2007
Hidenori Kawamoto
Abstract We examined the effects of long-term storage on the fermentation quality, chemical composition, and digestibility of wilted whole crop rice silage prepared using a roll baler for chopped material (set chop length, 13 mm) and compared the results with those obtained by using a conventional roll baler. The roll balers were used for ensiling whole crop rice of three types: (i) dough-ripe stage with light wilting (45% dry matter); (ii) dough-ripe stage with heavy wilting (65% dry matter); and (iii) yellow-ripe stage with light wilting (45% dry matter). The apparent dry matter density was higher in the ensiled roll bales composed of chopped whole crop rice (chopped bales) than in those composed of non-chopped whole crop rice (conventional bales) (195,250 kg m,3 vs 156,218 kg m,3, respectively). The formation of volatile fatty acids and ammonia-nitrogen was low in all types of silage. Further, no marked differences in the chemical composition and apparent dry matter digestibility were observed between silage from the two types of bales. However, there were significant differences in their lactic acid and ethanol contents. The lactic acid production in the conventional silage was low (0.08,0.14% fresh matter), whereas that in the chopped silage was high (0.71,0.97% fresh matter). A lower pH value (pH 4.0,4.3) was retained in the chopped silage after 10 months of storage. High ethanol production (1.1,2.5% fresh matter) was observed in the conventional silage, whereas ethanol production decreased to less than 1% in the chopped silage. These results indicate that although the ethanol fermentation is readily enhanced in the ensilage of wilted whole crop rice performed by a conventional baler, the ensilage performed by a baler for chopped material encourages lactic acid fermentation and suppresses ethanol production over a wide moisture range throughout the long-term storage. [source]

Effects of polyethylene colour and thickness on grass silage quality

GRASS & FORAGE SCIENCE, Issue 3 2003
H. G. J. Snell
Abstract The aim of the investigation was to determine the influence of variations in thickness and colour of agricultural plastic film on silage preservation conditions and grass silage quality. For this purpose, 30 cylindrical plastic containers (mini-silos; 0·3 m3) were filled with chopped grass and covered with five films of different thickness and colour: 90 ,m, white; 125 ,m, green; 150 ,m, black; 200 ,m, green and 200 ,m, white. Four replications of each film type were placed in the open air. Two replications were housed indoors and exposed to an ,artificial sky' in a test apparatus. The surface temperature of the films was found to be strongly dependent on film thickness and colour. Results of the chemical analysis of silages did not reveal any significant influence of the films. This was also the case when restricting the analysis to the uppermost silage layer. The results showed that under the conditions of this experiment, well preserved forage can be produced with films of differing colour, as well as of lesser thickness. [source]