title: Effects of a microbial inoculant and(or) sugarcane molasses on the fermentation, aerobic stability, and digestibility of bermudagrass ensiled at two moisture contents.
abstract: Tifton 81 bermudagrass was harvested and ensiled either directly (D; 32.4% DM) or wilted (W; 44.1% DM). Four treatments applied to each harvesting method were 1) control (C), or no additive; 2) dried cane molasses (M) at 5% of DM; 3) microbial inoculant (I; Pioneer 1174); and 4) a combination of Treatments 2 and 3 (MI). Wilting reduced the rate of decline of silage pH (P = .001) and produced silages with greater lactic acid concentrations (P = .069), lower acetic acid (P = .001) and ammonia contents (P = .001), and greater in vitro OM (IVOMD; P = .001) and ADF digestibilities (IVADFD; P = .001). These high-quality silages were less stable under aerobic conditions, as evidenced by greater average temperatures (P = .001) and greater yeast and mold counts (P = .001). Adding M to D forage resulted in silage with lower pH (P = .001), greater concentration of lactic acid (P = .001), greater IVOMD (P = .092), and lower acetic acid (P = .009) and ammonia concentrations (P = .002) than inoculated D silage. Wilted silage treated with MI averaged lower pH (P = .025), greater lactic acid content (P = .001) and IVOMD (P = .001), and lower acetic acid (P = .001) and ammonia concentrations than silages treated with M or I alone. These results indicate that wilting improved bermudagrass silage the most, and that the addition of molasses and inoculant to wilted bermudagrass further enhanced silage quality.
authors.affiliation: University of Florida, Gainesville 32611-0701.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Umaña
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Staples
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Wilcox
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Mahanna
mesh_terms: D000332:Aerobiosis; D000641:Ammonia / Q000032:analysis; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000378:metabolism; D004063:Digestion; D016984:Enterococcus faecium / Q000378:metabolism*; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000032:analysis; D005285:Fermentation; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007773:Lactates / Q000032:analysis; D019344:Lactic Acid; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008965:Molasses; D006109:Poaceae; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D012820:Silage
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D007773:Lactates; D011506:Proteins; D019344:Lactic Acid; D000641:Ammonia