Optimization strategy combining storage time and additives in nutritive value and aerobic stability of corn silage (snaplage) or high moisture corn silage

• Grant number: 19/27686-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2020
• End date: December 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Gustavo Nussio
• Grantee: Larissa Maniero Nazato
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In Brazil, the high moisture corn silage is widely used as an alternative to concentrate because it can be stored for long periods of time and has higher starch digestibility than dry grain. Another technique that is growing in the country is the snaplage. The snaplage is composed by the ear of the corn, which contains husk, cob, and grains. Snaplage is versatility because of the harvest interval and the formulation of diets, since it presents fiber in its composition and higher levels of degradable starch compared to dry corn. . In both methods, the ensiling process causes the increase of digestibility of the starch. The improvement in starch digestibility occurs because of the solubilization of the endosperm protein matrix. This increase in digestibility is dependent on length of storage, grain particle size, and moisture. Therefore, the objective of this research is to evaluate if bacterial inoculants and chemical additives are efficient to decrease the length of storage by increasing the starch digestibility, maintaining high aerobic stability and silage quality.