The objectives of this research were to determine the effect of treating corn stover forage with a microbial silage inoculant (Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product), a source ammoniacal nitrogen (Pro-Sil) and a mixture of organic acids (80% propionic and 20% acetic acid). Response to these additives was compared with untreated forage in terms of chemical fermentation charcteristics, digestibility of major constituents and utilization of nitrogen by lambs

Drake, R.

Kamstra, L. D.

Luther, R. M.

English

Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange

Effect of Silage Additives on the Quality and Utilization of Corn Stover Silage by Lambs

The objectives of this research were to determine the effect of treating corn forage with a viable microbial inoculant, a source of ammoniacal nitrogen and a mixture of propionic and acetic acid. Response to these additives was compared with untreated forage in terms of chemical fermentation characteristics, digestibility of silage nutrients and nitrogen utilization by lambs

Drake, R. A.

South Dakota State UniversityOpen PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information ExchangeSouth Dakota Cattle Feeders Field Day Proceedingsand Research Reports, 1982 Animal Science Reports1982Effect of Silage Additives on the Quality andUtilization of Corn Silage by LambsR. M. LutherSouth Dakota State UniversityR. A. DrakeL. D. KamstraFollow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_cattlefeed_1982This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science Reports at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in South Dakota Cattle Feeders Field Day Proceedings and Research Reports,1982 by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For moreinformation, please contact michael.biondo@sdstate.edu.Recommended CitationLuther, R. M.; Drake, R. A.; and Kamstra, L. D., "Effect of Silage Additives on the Quality and Utilization of Corn Silage by Lambs"(1982). South Dakota Cattle Feeders Field Day Proceedings and Research Reports, 1982. Paper 9.http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_cattlefeed_1982/9EF F ECT OF S I LAG E ADD I T I VE S  O N  THE QUAL I TY AND U T I L I ZA T I O N  O F  C O R N  S I LAGE BY LAMBS R. M. Luther , R .  A .  Drake And L .  D .  Kamstra D E P T . OF AN I MA L  S C I ENC E R E PORT CATTLE 82-8 Summary Forty percent dry matter corn forage was ensiled in p lastic-lined s teel barrel silo s . Four silage additive treatments were applied to the forage . They were : ( 1 )  untreated , ( 2 )  Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product at 1 lb per ton of forage , ( 3 )  an ammonia-molasses suspension applied at 6 . 43% of forage dry matter , and (4)  an organic acid mixture of 80% propionic and 20% acetic applied at 20 lb per ton of forage . Chemical profile analyses were performed on samples of untreated and treated forage collected at en­siling and on samples of silage during feedout .  A digestion-nitrogen balance trial was conducted with lambs averaging 62 pounds . Chemical analysis o f  the experimental silages removed from the s ilos for feeding indicated that methods of preparation and s torage used in the s tudy produced good quality silage.  Values for pH ranged from 4.0 to 4 . 5  with no dif ferences between additive treatments . · Lactic and volatile fatty acid concentrations were similar for untreated and microbial inoculated s ilage. Lactic acid was higher in ammonia treated silage but was sharply reduced in organic acid treated silage. Annnoniacal nitrogen levels were higher with the silage treated with an ammonia-molasses suspension and organic acids than with the untreated silage.  Digestib ility of dry matter , crude pro tein and organic matter was reduced by the addition o f  each of the silage additives . Addition of an ammonia-mineral suspension significantly (P<.0 1 )  lowered digestib ility o f  nutrients and nitrogen retention a s  compared t o  untreated corn s ilage . Introduction Attempts have been made to improve s ilage formation with commercial products or with the addition of nutrients to the forage . Such materials have been reported to improve the quality of silage , reduce dry matter losses and improve utilization o f  nutrients .  Benefits to be obtained by use o f  a microbial inoculant , addition of nitrogenous compounds or treating with a fermentation inhib itor such as organic acids have not b een well es tablished . The obj ectives of this research were to determine the effect o f  treating corn forage with a viable microbial inoculant ; a source o f  ammoniacal nitro­gen and a mixture o f  propionic and acetic acid . Response to these additives was compared with untreated forage in terms of chemical fermentation charac­teris tics , digestib ility o f  s ilage nutrients and nitrogen utilization by lambs . 26 - 2 -Procedures Forty percent dry matter corn f orage was harvested with a conventi�nal field chopper. The chopped forage was weighed into a feed mixing wagon equipped with a scale. The additives were weighed or measured , added to the forage and allowed to mix for 10  minutes. 2The microbial inoculant (Lacto­bacillus acidophilus fermentation product) was added at3a rate of 1 lb per ton of forage. The ammonia-molasses suspension (Prosil) contained .85% nitrogen and was applied at the rate of 6.43 % of forage dry matter. The organic acid mixture contained 80 % propionic and 20 % acetic acid and was applied at the rate of 20 lb per ton of forage. Untreated and treated forages were transferred from the mixing wagon to plastic bags placed inside the experimental silos. The silos consisted of steel barrels (about 34 inches high and 22 inches wide) equipped with lids. The lids had a rubber gasket and were secured in place with a ring-lock fastener. The forage was packed into each silo to a level that would j ust allow the lid to fit in place. The mixing wagon was washed thoroughly with water under pressure between each additive treatment. Samples of about 2 lb were collected at ensiling , during feedout of silage , and of waste silage separated from good silage as the silos were emptied. The samples were innnediately frozen for chemical analyses. A portion of each sample was finely ground and used in determining a chemical profile. The profile included the determination of dry matter by oven drying and by toluene distillation (corrected for acids). Other determin­ations included pH , titratable acidity , total and ammoniacal nitrogen , lactic acid , organic acids (acetic,  propionic ,  butyric) and ash. The utilization of nutrients from the silages was determined in a digestion-nitrogen balance trial with lambs. Twenty-four lambs averaging about 62 lb were allotted to the four silage diets with six lambs per diet. The lambs were kept in individual pens and fed the experimental diets f or a 2-week period. After adj ustment to the diets , the lambs were placed in metabolism crates and a 5-day total collection trial was conducted. Digestion coef ficients and values for nitrogen utilization were calculated using dry �tter values determined by toluene distillation procedures . . .. ,e lambs were fed a full feed of silage with a protein supplement once daily. ��omposition of the supplements is shown in table 1 .  The supplement was f7d �1 4 0  g per head daily to lambs fed the untreated , Silo-Bae and Organic Aci'-treated silage. Fifty g of supplement were fed dai ly to lambs fed the Pr�-��eated silage. The silos we�opened for feeding in April after being ensiled for ap­proximately six mon�. Dry matter recovery of spoiled silage was determined. 1 1 · M f � 2B . air anu . acturing.- ompany , Blair , NE. Sila-Bac Silage Inocu t Microbial Products Division , Pioneer Hi-Bred Inter�ation�l. . . . . ' Pro- Sil ,  Pro- Sil Division Terra Chemicals lnL �rnationa1 , Inc. 27 - 3 -TABLE 1 .  COMPO S ITION OF SUPPLEMENTS Ingredient Ground corn , % Soybean o il meal (50% P. ) , % Ground .limestone , % Dicalc ium phosphate, % Vitamin A premix , g Untreated Sila-Baca 0 . " d  c rganic aci s 3 2 . 52 65 . 04 2 . 44 8 90 . 25 5 . 8 7 3 . 88 2 aLactobac illus acidophilus fermentation produc t applied at rate of 1 lb per tgn of forag e .  Applied at rate o f  6 . 43 %  o f  forage dry matter. �Applied at rate o f  20 lb per ton o f  forage. 3 0 , 000 International Units of vitamin A/ gram . Results The chemical pro f iles of the experimental forages following appl ication of the additive (at ensiling ) are presented in table 2 .  Dry mat ter content TABLE 2 .  CHEM ICAL PROFILES O F  CORN S ILAGE AT STORAGE A S  AFFECTED BY SILAGE ADDITIVES Silage additive trea tment Item Untreated S ila-Bac Dry d 40 . 52 4 1 . 20 matter Dry matter e 40 . 7 5 40 . 58 pH 5 . 79 5 . 90 Titratable acidity£ 1 .  5 2  1 . 33 Anunonia nitrogeng 1 .  55 1 . 50 Percent dry matter Ash 4 . 59 5 . 45 Crude protein 7 . 43 7 . 25 Lact ic acid 0 . 05 0 . 03 Volatile fatty acids Acetic o .oo 0 . 00 Prop ionic 1 . 10 0 . 44 Butyric 0 . 00 0 . 18 Total 1 . 1 0 0 . 62 a , b . ��ee foo tno tes , table 1 .  Oven dried at 70°c for 24 hours , e . f Toluene distillation r.r.i.ch acid correctio� • Mil lili ters . IN KOH to raise pH to 7 .  gPercent o f  to tal nitrogen . 28 a Pro-Sil b 39 . 6 2 40 . 4 2  8 . 6 2 0 . 00 5 . 1 2 5 . 5 2 1 5 . 06 0 . 14 0 . 00 o . 1r 0 JO .J . 10 Organic acidsc 39 . 8 3 40 . 45 4 . 6 7 8 . 10 1 .  5 7  .-. 04 7 . 86 0 . 06 0 . 00 1 . 89 0 . 00 1 . 89 - 4 -as measured by toluene distillation was similar across treatments averaging 40 . 6% .  Ensilage treated with an ammonia-molasses suspension ( Pro-Sil) resulted iri a more alkaline pH ( 8 . 6 2 )  and higher ammoniacal nitrogen concentrations at storage than the other silage additive treatments. Application of organic acids, as expected , increased the titratable acidity as compared to the other additive treatments . Addition of Pro-Sil increased the crude protein content from 7 to 1 5 % .  Some fermentation of forage was observed at ensiling with each silage treatment. Small quantities of lactic and volatile fatty acids were formed at this early stage. It is not uncommon to observe some chemical changes between harvesting and storage in forage of this maturity and moisture content. Results of chemical analyses of silage samples taken during feedout of the silages are presented in table 3 .  The procedures used in this study for TABLE 3 .  CHEMICAL PROFILES OF CORN SILAGE FOR FEEDING A S  AFFECTED BY SILAGE ADDITIVES Item Untreated d 42 . 82  Dry matter e 44 . 35 Dry matter pH 4 . 03 Titratable acidity! 1 1 . 90 Ammonia nitrogeng ' 3 . 55 Percent of dry matter Ash 4 . 64 Crude prote�n 8 . 60 Lactic acid 3 . 7 1 Volatile fatty acids Acetic 1 .  7 2  p h "  . h 0 . 59 rop ionic Butyric 0 . 00 Total 2 . 3 1  a b  c d e' f' See footnotes , table 1 .  ' ' , gSee footnotes , table 2 .  Silage additive treatment Sila-Bac a Pro-Silb 4 1 . 02 39 . 59 43 . 93 42 . 2 1 4 . 0 6 4 . 49 1 0 . 11 9 . 60 3 . 80 28 . 84 5 . 23 5 . 66 8 . 03 1 2 . 1 5 3 . 3 7 4 . 50 1 . 39 1 . 4 5  0 . 49 0 . 53 Ti 0 . 00 1 . 88 1 . 98 �Dif ference between treatments significant (P< . 01 ) . iT = trace . Organic acidsc 40 . 67 43 . 33 4 . 44 9 . 06 6 . 63 5 . 37 8 . 4 6  0 . 3 8  0 . 99 1 . 68 0 . 00 2 . 6 7 preparation and storage of experimental silages appeared to result in satis­factory silage formation . Evidence of this is in the low pH values (4 . 0-4 . 5 ) , adequate levels of lactic and volatile fatty acids and the absence of butyric acid in the silages. Ammoniacal nitrogen was markedly higher for silage treated with Pro-Sil and for silage treated with organic acids as compared to untreated silage. Annnonia level in silage treated with Sila-Bac was similar to untreated silage. Concentration of lactic acid was about the same for untreated and microbial treated silage. Addition of Pro- Sil increased the lactic acid concentration while treatment with organic acids 29 - 5 -lowered the concentration o f  this acid . Formation of acetic and p ropionic acids was s imilar for untreated s ilage and s ilage treated with either S ila­Ba·c an& Pro- Sil . Rat io s  of these acids differed , with the s ilage treated with organic acids reflec ting a somewhat different propor tion than was applied . Diges tib ility and nitrogen utilization by lambs fed diets containing corn s ilage treated with additives are presented in tab le 4 .  Dry matter , crude protein and organic matter diges tib ilities ranged from two to four percentage units lower with diets containing s ilage treated with additives as compared to the untreated s ilage diet . However , only the coefficients for the Pro-Sil s ilage diet were s ignif icantly lower (P< . 0 1 )  than the diet with the untreated s ilag e .  TABLE 4 .  DIGESTIBILITY AND NITROGEN RETENTION WITH SHEEP FED CORN S ILAGE D IETS Item Number of lambs Avg weigh t ,  lb Dry mat t er intake , g/day Nitrogen intake , g/ day Diges tib ility, % Dry matter Crude pro tein Organic matter Nitrogen balance , g / day Fecal Urinary Retained Percent retained o f  consumed , % Untreated 6 59 . 9  980 . 2  19 . 7 73 . 18a 69 . 9 5a 74 . 76a 5 .  9 2ab 6 . 52b 7 . 25 3 6 . 89 a Corn s ilage diets Sila-Bac 6 60 . 8  1 1 1 2 . 0  20 . 3  7 1 . 52ab 6 6 . 1 7ab 7 3 . 00ab 6 . 9 6b 6 . 1 1 b 7 . 19 a 3 5 . 3 7ab Pro-Sil 6 6 1 . 3  1 09 7 . 2  21 . 7 b 68 . 7 \ 6 5 . 34b 70 . 63 7 . 5 7  7 . 5la 6 . 6la 30 . 25b Organic acids 6 63 . 0  1 1 24 . 2 2 1 . 3 70 . 35 ab 6 5 . 7 7ab 7 1 .  8 7ab 7 .  3 lb 5 . 9 9  b 8 . 0 l a a , bMeans in the same row with dif ferent superscrip ts are s tatis tically different (P< . 0 1 ) . Nitrogen balance data indicate only small differences in fecal and urinary nitrogen among the s ilage additive treatments . Fecal nitro gen values were gen�rally higher with diets containing s ilage treated with additives as compared to the contro l diet . Signif icantly higher (P< . 0 1 )  urinary nitrogen excr etion was ob s erved when feeding the s ilage treated with Pro-Sil as compared to the s ilage treated with S ila-Bac or organic acids . Less nitrogen was retained in terms of g/ day or as a percent o f  nitro gen consumed by lambs fed the s ilage treated with an ammonia-mo lasses suspens ion . This was largely the result o f  elevated fecal and urinary nitrogen excre­tions . Greatest nitrogen retention was ob s erved when feeding s ilage treated with organic acids . However , it was no t s tatis tically dif ferent from the untreated s ilag e .  30 - 6 -The effect of  s ilage additives on dry mat t er pres ervation is shown in table 5 .  Recovery o f  dry matter was very high for all experimental s ilages with only small differ ences in spoiled or was t e  s ilage . The s torage structures (steel barrels ) used in this s tudy were ideal in terms o f  r educ ing oxygen penetration of  the forage . TABLE 5 .  DRY MATTER RECOVERY OF CORN S ILAGE TREATED WITH SILAGE ADDITIVES S ilage additive treatment a Pro -Silb Organic Item Untreated Sila-Bac acids c Dry matter of  corn forage ,  % 40 . 7 5 40 . 58 4 0 . 4 2 4 0 . 45 Total dry mat ter ens iled , lb 5 1 6 . 1 8 5 2 6 . 65 55 1 .  69 5 1 7 . 88 Total dry matter o f  f eed s ilag e ,  lb 509 . 86 5 1 8 . 9 6  547 . 60 5 1 2 . 39 As percent of  dry matter ens iled 98 . 7 8 9 8 . 54 9 9 . 26 9 8 . 9 4  Spo iled s ilage ,  lb 6 . 3 2  7 . 69 4 . 09 5 . 49 As percent of  dry matter ens iled 1 .  22 1 . 46 0 . 74 1 . 06 a b  c ' ' See footnotes , table 1 .  The chemical parameters frequently used as indicators o f  s ilage quality did no t relate well to diges tibility and utilization of nutrients as determined with lambs in this s tudy . Levels of annnonia were high in Pro-Sil treated s ilage as were levels of lactic acid as compared to untreated silag e .  On the o ther hand , annnonia concentrat ions were high in organic acid treated silage, but formation of lactic acid was inhibi ted . The relationship of these two chemical measurements to nitrogen utilizat ion is no t clear . Ammonia in these ins tances may have been in a chemical form (lactate or acetate) which inf luenced availab ility of  nitrogen , resul ting in lowered nitrogen retention in the cas e  of s ilage treat ed with Pro-Sil , but increased retention as in the case of  a fermentation inhibitor such as organic acids . The die t s  used in the s tudy o f  nutrient utilization contained only s ilage and prot ein supp lement and may no t have p rovided the energy needed for optimum utilization of non-protein nitrogen . 3 1  

Effect of Silage Additives on the Quality and Utilization of Corn Silage by Lambs

https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=sd_cattlefeed_1982

Effect of Silage Additives on the Quality and Utilization of Corn Stover Silage by Lambs

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