The Effects of a New Plastic Film on the Microbial and Fermentation Quality of Italian Ryegrass Bale Silages

Problems associated with big bale silage include the high permeability of plastic wrapping films to O2, their low resistance to damage and the large amount of plastic that must be used to limit aerobic deterioration during conservation. Low permeability film, used in the packaging of food and recently proposed for bunker silos (Degano, 1999), could reduce fungal development in bale silage. The aim of this work was to compare the microbial and fermentation quality of big-baled silage, wrapped with commercially available plastic film and a new stretch film with low O2 permeability, over different conservation periods

The Effects of the Growth Stage and Inoculant on Fermentation and Aerobic Stability of Whole-Plant Grain Sorghum Silage

Grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is well adapted to environments with limited rainfall and low soil fertility. Today, on dry land, improved grain sorghum hybrids may be a valid alternative to maize silage and they may give DM yields and digestible energy that are comparable to maize, but at lower production costs (Legarto, 2000). Harvesting crops for silage at an early stage of maturity (low DM content) may result in silage with a higher acid content and low nutritional quality, while harvesting crops at a later stage of maturity may make the forage more difficult to chop and pack. Furthermore, drier silage could be more aerobically unstable during the feed-out phase. The aim of this work was to determine the optimum stage of development for silage purposes and to evaluate the effect of maturity and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculant on the fermentation, nutritional quality and aerobic stability of whole-plant silage produced by grain sorghum grown without irrigation in the Po valley, NW Italy

Effects of Stage of Growth and Inoculation on Fermentation Quality of Field Pea Silage

Field peas (Pisum sativum L.) are a short-term catch crop with a high crude protein content, which provides a high forage yield in a short growing period. Since field peas are a succulent crop and are difficult to field cure, it is preferable to directly ensile them to prevent weather damage and excessive grain losses. The onset of lodging is delayed in field pea varieties, since the crop is supported by the tendrils in a more erect manner, and this allows easy harvesting without soil contamination even at advanced stages of maturity (Koivisto et al., 2003). To our knowledge, no information is available on the ensiling of peas in Southern Europe. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the stage of maturity and inoculant application on the quality of silage produced from directly-cut field peas in the Po Valley, NW Italy

Effects of the Stage of Growth and Inoculation on Proteolysis in Field Pea Silage

Ensiling legumes is a good way of providing home-grown protein in dairy farms but severe protein degradation can occur when conserving legumes. Peas (Pisum sativum L.) are legumes with a high crude protein and starch content, that provide a high forage yield in a short growing period. Very little information is available on the protein value of field pea silage. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of stage of maturity and inoculant application on proteolysis in field pea silage in the Po Valley, NW Italy

Effects of wilting and lactic acid bacteria inoculation on fermentation quality of white lupin and fababean silages

Fababeans and lupins are short-term catch crops with a high crude protein content, which provide a high forage yield in a short growing period. Legumes are difficult to conserve as silages because of their low water soluble carbohydrates content (WSC) and high buffer capacity. To our knowledge, little information is available on the ensiling of fababeans and lupins in Southern Europe. The research was carried out in Lodi (Italy) in order to evaluate the effects of wilting and inoculation with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on fermentation characteristics of the resulting silages. The data show that both wilting and LAB inoculant significantly improved fermentation quality of the legumes silages