Impact of maturity stage, use of bacterial inoculant and storage time on the quality of corn silage

Author(s)

Luis Gustavo Rossi

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Jaboticabal. 2020-11-20.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias. Jaboticabal
• Defense date: 2020-09-21
• Advisor: Ricardo Andrade Reis

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the maturity stage, bacterial inoculation and storage time in fermentation, aerobic stability and nutritional characteristics of flint corn silage, in addition to evaluate the impact of prolonged storage and inoculation of flint corn silage with Lactobacillus buchneri in the metabolic and performance responses of lambs. For this purpose, two studies were carried out. The first consisted of harvesting a flint corn hybrid very early, early and medium (at 250, 300 and 350 g dry matter (DM)/kg as fed, respectively) and ensiled in mini-silos without (control) or with Lactobacillus buchneri CNCM I-4323 at 1 × 105 cfu/g of fresh forage for 120, 240 and 360 days to investigate how these factors interact with each other. The second study, was harvested with 315 g dry matter (DM)/kg and ensiled in concrete pipe silos (n = 2) without (control) or with Lactobacillus buchneri CNCM I-4323 at 1 × 105 cfu/g of fresh forage for 120, 240 and 360 d. Such silages were used to formulate six different diets. Sixty non-castrated male Dorper × Santa Inês lambs were used in the feeding program. Additionally, eight ruminally cannulated Dorper × Santa Inês crossbred lambs were used to measure the ruminal fermentation. In spite of reducing silage digestibility, the harvest of whole-crop flint corn with 300 to 350 g/kg DM is desirable to have higher DM yield and starch accumulation. Inoculation with Lactobacillus buchneri preserved the silage against aerobic deterioration. The productivity responses of lambs were enhanced by increasing the storage length of flint corn silage, but inoculation with L. buchneri did not contribute to improve animal performance. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/00696-6 - Impact of maturity stage, bacterial inoculants and storage length on corn silage quality
• Grantee: Luis Gustavo Rossi
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate