Fermentation Quality of Silages Produced from Wilted Sown Tropical Perennial Grass Pastures with or without a Bacterial Inoculant
High growth rates and rapid reproductive development and associated decline in feed quality of sown tropical perennial grass pastures present management challenges for livestock producers. Conservation of surplus forage as silage could be an effective management tool. Experiments were conducted to e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/7/1721 |
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| author | John W. Piltz Richard G. Meyer Mark A. Brennan Suzanne P. Boschma |
| author_facet | John W. Piltz Richard G. Meyer Mark A. Brennan Suzanne P. Boschma |
| author_sort | John W. Piltz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | High growth rates and rapid reproductive development and associated decline in feed quality of sown tropical perennial grass pastures present management challenges for livestock producers. Conservation of surplus forage as silage could be an effective management tool. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the fermentation quality of silages produced from tropical grasses. Five species (<i>Chloris gayana</i>, <i>Megathyrsus maximus</i>, <i>Panicum coloratum</i>, <i>Digitaria eriantha</i> and <i>Cenchrus clandestinus</i>) were ensiled without additives after a short, effective wilt at dry matter (DM) contents ranging from 302.4 to 650.1 g kg<sup>−1</sup>. The fermentation profile of all silages in 2019 was typical for high DM silages, but in 2020 ammonia (% of total nitrogen: NH<sub>3</sub>-N), acetic acid and pH levels were higher. In 2020 <i>M. maximus</i> (302.4 g kg<sup>−1</sup> DM) was poorly preserved with 20.2% NH<sub>3</sub>-N. The DM content of all other silages exceeded 350 g kg<sup>−1</sup> and fermentation quality was generally good. In a second experiment, <i>M. maximus</i> was ensiled at 365 g kg<sup>−1</sup> chopped and 447 g kg<sup>−1</sup> DM chopped and unchopped, either without or with Pioneer 1171<sup>®</sup> (<i>Lactobacillus plantarum</i> and <i>Enterococcus faecium</i>) or Lallemand Magniva Classic<sup>®</sup> (<i>L. plantarum</i> and <i>Pediococcus pentasaceus</i>) bacterial inoculant. Inoculants increased lactic acid production, reduced pH and improved fermentation compared to Control, but D-lactate, L-lactate and acetic acid production differed between inoculants. Unchopped silages had higher pH and NH<sub>3</sub>-N and better preserved protein fraction than chopped silages at the same DM content. In both experiments, wilting increased water soluble carbohydrates by 0.5–31.5 g kg<sup>−1</sup> DM and ensiling increased degradation of the protein fraction. We concluded that a rapid and effective wilt combined with a bacterial additive resulted in well preserved tropical grass silages. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:24:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a28e5acfdf6f4a22b5cf207a322fb649 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
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| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-a28e5acfdf6f4a22b5cf207a322fb6492023-12-01T21:47:58ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-07-01127172110.3390/agronomy12071721Fermentation Quality of Silages Produced from Wilted Sown Tropical Perennial Grass Pastures with or without a Bacterial InoculantJohn W. Piltz0Richard G. Meyer1Mark A. Brennan2Suzanne P. Boschma3NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Pine Gully Road, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, AustraliaNSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Pine Gully Road, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, AustraliaNSW Department of Primary Industries, Tamworth Agricultural Institute, 4 Marsden Park Road, Tamworth, NSW 2340, AustraliaNSW Department of Primary Industries, Tamworth Agricultural Institute, 4 Marsden Park Road, Tamworth, NSW 2340, AustraliaHigh growth rates and rapid reproductive development and associated decline in feed quality of sown tropical perennial grass pastures present management challenges for livestock producers. Conservation of surplus forage as silage could be an effective management tool. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the fermentation quality of silages produced from tropical grasses. Five species (<i>Chloris gayana</i>, <i>Megathyrsus maximus</i>, <i>Panicum coloratum</i>, <i>Digitaria eriantha</i> and <i>Cenchrus clandestinus</i>) were ensiled without additives after a short, effective wilt at dry matter (DM) contents ranging from 302.4 to 650.1 g kg<sup>−1</sup>. The fermentation profile of all silages in 2019 was typical for high DM silages, but in 2020 ammonia (% of total nitrogen: NH<sub>3</sub>-N), acetic acid and pH levels were higher. In 2020 <i>M. maximus</i> (302.4 g kg<sup>−1</sup> DM) was poorly preserved with 20.2% NH<sub>3</sub>-N. The DM content of all other silages exceeded 350 g kg<sup>−1</sup> and fermentation quality was generally good. In a second experiment, <i>M. maximus</i> was ensiled at 365 g kg<sup>−1</sup> chopped and 447 g kg<sup>−1</sup> DM chopped and unchopped, either without or with Pioneer 1171<sup>®</sup> (<i>Lactobacillus plantarum</i> and <i>Enterococcus faecium</i>) or Lallemand Magniva Classic<sup>®</sup> (<i>L. plantarum</i> and <i>Pediococcus pentasaceus</i>) bacterial inoculant. Inoculants increased lactic acid production, reduced pH and improved fermentation compared to Control, but D-lactate, L-lactate and acetic acid production differed between inoculants. Unchopped silages had higher pH and NH<sub>3</sub>-N and better preserved protein fraction than chopped silages at the same DM content. In both experiments, wilting increased water soluble carbohydrates by 0.5–31.5 g kg<sup>−1</sup> DM and ensiling increased degradation of the protein fraction. We concluded that a rapid and effective wilt combined with a bacterial additive resulted in well preserved tropical grass silages.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/7/1721tropical grasssilagebacterial inoculantforage conservationprotein degradationlactic acid |
| spellingShingle | John W. Piltz Richard G. Meyer Mark A. Brennan Suzanne P. Boschma Fermentation Quality of Silages Produced from Wilted Sown Tropical Perennial Grass Pastures with or without a Bacterial Inoculant Agronomy tropical grass silage bacterial inoculant forage conservation protein degradation lactic acid |
| title | Fermentation Quality of Silages Produced from Wilted Sown Tropical Perennial Grass Pastures with or without a Bacterial Inoculant |
| title_full | Fermentation Quality of Silages Produced from Wilted Sown Tropical Perennial Grass Pastures with or without a Bacterial Inoculant |
| title_fullStr | Fermentation Quality of Silages Produced from Wilted Sown Tropical Perennial Grass Pastures with or without a Bacterial Inoculant |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fermentation Quality of Silages Produced from Wilted Sown Tropical Perennial Grass Pastures with or without a Bacterial Inoculant |
| title_short | Fermentation Quality of Silages Produced from Wilted Sown Tropical Perennial Grass Pastures with or without a Bacterial Inoculant |
| title_sort | fermentation quality of silages produced from wilted sown tropical perennial grass pastures with or without a bacterial inoculant |
| topic | tropical grass silage bacterial inoculant forage conservation protein degradation lactic acid |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/7/1721 |
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