ACTA VETERINARIA ET ZOOTECHNICA SINICA ›› 2015, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (5): 784-791.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2015.05.014

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Effect of Lactic Acid Bacteria or a Chemical Preservative on the Quality and Aerobic Stability of Alfalfa Silage Produced in Farm-scale Silos

LIU Hui1，2，BU Deng-pan2，3，4，LÜ Zhong-wang2，LI Fa-di1，LIU Shi-jie5，ZHANG Kai-zhan6，WANG Jia-qi1，2*   

  1. （1.College of Animal Science and Technology，Gansu Agricultural University，Lanzhou 730070，China；2.State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition，Institute of Animal Science，Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences，Beijing 100193，China；3.Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition，Harbin 150030，China；4.World Agroforestry Centre，East and Central Asia，Beijing 100193，China；5.China Feed Industry Association，Beijing 100125，China；6.Beijing Sino Farm，Beijing 100028，China）
  • Received:2014-11-24 Online:2015-05-23 Published:2015-05-23

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Abstract:

This study evaluated the effect of different additives on the fermentation and aerobic stability of alfalfa herbage（Medicago sativa L.）.Whole fourth-cut alfalfa was harvested at the early bloom stage of maturity and allowed to wilt to a DM content of about 50%.Chopped grasses were untreated or after the following treatments：1）Control（no additives）（CK）；2） Lactic acid bacteria（a commercial inoculant）（LAB） at 2×105 colony-forming units cfu•g-1 of fresh forage；3） A combination of lactic acid bacteria at 2×105 cfu•g-1 of fresh forage and molasses at 2% of fresh forage weight （LAB+M）；4） Sodium dehydroacetate（SD） at 0.1% of fresh forage weight.Silages were sampled on d 90 after ensiling for fermentation and chemical analysis.At the end of the ensiling period，90 d，the silages were subjected to an aerobic stability test.In this test，temperature variation was measured and served as spoilage indicators.The results showed that all silages have a good fermentation quality.The application of LAB，LAB+M and SD as silage additives could significantly increase the lactic acid，lactic acid/acetic acid ratio and dry matter recovery but did not alter the crude protein，neutral detergent fiber，Acid detergent fiber and water soluble carbohydrates.The SD silages had less lactic acid concentrations and greater ammonia-N（of % TN） compared with the LAB and LAB+M silages，implied a relatively lower fermentation quality.The LAB silages and LAB+M silages had an equal quality.Silages treated with LAB，LAB+M，and SD took longer to heat than untreated silage when exposed to air，and improvements were numerically substantial.Inoculating alfalfa silage with LAB dramatically improved the aerobic stability of alfalfa haylage.These results indicated that alfalfa haylages produced in farm-scale silos treated with LAB could obtain the best quality.

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