Chemical Composition and Fermentation Profile of Perennial Peanut and Marandu Grass Mixed Silages

Perennial peanut has high quality, evidenced by the improvement of animal production in grazing, due to good contents of crude protein and digestibility, which makes it one of the best alternatives for low cost feeding (Paganella and Valls 2002). Grass ensilage associated with legumes is considered an alternative to meet the protein demand of cattle in the livestock. However, due to limited information on the techniques of grass ensilage with tropical legumes, this research aimed to evaluate the chemical composition and the fermentation profile of perennial peanut and Marandu mixed grass silages, treated or not with bacterial inoculant

Intake and Digestibility of Nutrients of Corn and \u3cem\u3eStylosanthes\u3c/em\u3e Silages in Diets for Sheep

The low concentration of water soluble carbohydrates, the high buffering capacity and the low autochthonous population of lactic acid bacteria are limiting factors to legume ensiling. However, recent research with tropical legumes has shown that the silages presented an adequate fermentation profile (Liu et al. 2012; Silva et al. 2012; Pereira et al. 2012). Nevertheless, there are few studies on the use of stylosanthes silages cv. Campo Grande (Stylosanthes capitata + Stylosantes macrocephala) for sheep feeding. The objective of this study was to evaluate the intake and digestibility of nutrients of stylosanthes and corn silages in sheep diets

Performance of Beef Cattle Fed Diets Containing \u3cem\u3eStylosanthes\u3c/em\u3e and Corn Silages

Reports of the use of tropical legumes in silage production are scarce as these legumes have high contents of crude protein, low water soluble carbohydrate and high buffering capacity, which inhibit the production of silages with good fermentation and nutritional characteristics. Recent research has, however, shown that it is possible to produce good quality silages using tropical legumes (Pereira et al. 2012). Souza et al. (2012) concluded that silage produced from Stylosanthes cv. Campo Grande (Stylosanthes capitata + Stylosanthes macrocephala) at 60% proportion of the dry matter of the diet can replace corn silage in diets for beef cattle in feedlots without altering their intake and productive performance. However, the ideal proportion of this silage in the diets for beef cattle is still unknown. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the intake and performance of beef cattle fed diets with Stylosanthes and corn silages

Selection of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Alfalfa Silage and Its Effects as Inoculant on Silage Fermentation

The first part of the study aimed to isolate, characterize, and identify wild lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains from alfalfa silage produced in a tropical area. LAB strains were isolated from alfalfa silage ensiled for 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 days (d) and were identified by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. The second part aimed to investigate the effects of wild LAB strains on the nutritive and fermentative characteristics of alfalfa silage. This trial was conducted according to a completely randomized design in a 4 × 2 factorial scheme [four inoculants (I) × two harvests (H)], (n = 4). The inoculants were: (1) no inoculant (CTRL), (2) Lactobacillus pentosus (AV 14.17); (3) L. pentosus + Lactobacillus brevis + Pediococcus acidilactici (Combo); and (4) commercial inoculant (CI). Alfalfa forage (7 kg) was ensiled in 10 L buckets and opened after 90 d. Seventy-seven strains were isolated. Pediococcus, Lactobacillus, and Weissella represented 52.0, 24.7, and 20.8% of the isolates, respectively. For the first harvest, Combo, CI, and all inoculated silages showed lower acid detergent fiber ADF, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), respectively. Silage fermented with AV14.17 presented greater residual water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) in the second harvest and showed the lowest pH in both harvests. AV14.17 strain has potential as an inoculant for alfalfa silage production