Losses and Dry Matter Recovery of Pioneiro Grass (\u3cem\u3ePennisetum purpureum\u3c/em\u3e Schumach) and Maize Silages in Mixtures

Forages ensiled with high moisture content produce increased quantities of effluents losing highly digestible nutrients (McDonald 1981). The ensilage process usually involves gaseous and effluent losses which are strictly related to the moisture content of the plants used for conservation. The addition of materials with high dry matter content and materials which improve the fermentation pattern has been an alternative to reduce these effluent losses. The maize plant and maize grain, by their physical and fermentative characteristics, may represent alternatives to reduce the losses in the process (Anaya-Ortega et al. 2009). This work was carried out with the aim to evaluate the effect of whole plant maize and maize grain addition to silages of Pioneiro grass as way to control dry matter losses

Total Accumulative Losses during the Fermentation of Pioneiro Grass (\u3cem\u3ePennisetum purpureum\u3c/em\u3e Schumach) Silages with Addition of Whole Plant Maize and Maize Grain

Pioneiro grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) has gained importance in silage production mainly due to its robust habit, perenniality and high yield capacity, although its typically high moisture content may influence negatively its potential for ensiled conservation. High moisture content at the time of ensilage has resulted in increased losses by gases and effluents (Balsalobre et al. 2001, Nussio 2005). Despite these losses, the high yields of tropical forages still justifies their use and study as roughage and silage in ruminant nutrition. Although tropical forages present an interesting alternative for conservation, maize silage still has widespread use across different systems because of its set of favorable natural characteristics for fermentation resulting in production of high quality silage (Anaya-Ortega et al. 2009). An experiment was conducted to evaluate the individual and combined effect of maize and Pioneiro grass on the total losses of the silages

Relative Losses of Pioneiro Grass (\u3cem\u3ePennisetum purpureum\u3c/em\u3e Schumach) Silage with Addition of Whole Plant Maize or Maize Grain during Fermentation

Among the forages with potential to be ensiled, tropical forages stand out because of their high yield capacity, being able to produce three times more dry matter than for maize under tropical conditions. Although tropical forages are an interesting alternative for ensilage, their high moisture content may impair the fermentation process, reducing the silage quality. The addition of whole plant maize and maize grain to other grass silages can be an efficient way to reduce the losses involved during the process, specially due to the improvement of the fermentative profile of the silages (Stefanie et al. 2000; Anaya-Ortega et al. 2009). This study aimed to analyze the relative losses from the fermentation of Pioneiro grass silages added or not with whole plant maize and grain maize besides the whole plant maize silage

Changes to the Fermentative Profiles of Pioneiro Grass (\u3cem\u3ePennisetum purpureum\u3c/em\u3e Schumach) and Maize Silages in Different Mixtures after Aerobic Stability

Silages arte widely used in animal production systems to overcome the seasonality of forage production around the world. The preservation of nutritional value of silages depends on the maintenance of an anaerobic environment during the fermentation and storage phases, as well from aerobic stability during the feed out stage (Nussio, 2005). Aerobic exposure usually promotes intense activity of fungi, yeast and aerobic bacteria. If the time of aerobic exposure is long enough, huge changes can happen in the chemical composition of the silages affecting negatively their nutritional value. These changes can be followed by decreasing lactic acid concentration and increasing pH, temperature and ammonia nitrogen (Addah et al. 2011). The present work was carried out to evaluate the levels of ammonia nitrogen, pH, buffer capacity and electric conductivity in silages of Pioneiro grass and maize in different mixtures at silo opening and during the first 7 and 14 days of aerobic exposure