The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition, in vitro DM degradability, ME and OMD of alfalfamaize silage mixtures in comparison to pure maize and alfalfa silages, and to test the existence of associative effects of ensiling alfalfa forage with whole-crop maize using the in vitro gas production technique. Ensiling alfalfa with whole-crop maize had a significant (p<0.001) effect on chemical composition, pH, in vitro DM degradability, OMD and estimated ME values of mixtures. DM content of the resultant silages significantly increased with increasing proportion of whole-crop maize in the mixtures, whereas the pH value, crude protein (CP), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and ash contents of mixtures decreased due to the dilution effect of whole-crop maize which was low in CP, ADF and ash. The pH values of all alfalfa-maize silage mixtures were at the desired level for quality silage. Gas production of alfalfa-maize silage mixtures at all incubation times except 12 h increased with increasing proportion of whole-crop maize. When alfalfa was mixed with whole-crop maize in the ratio 40:60, ME and OMD values were significantly (p<0.001) higher than other silages. Maximum gas production (A gas ) ranged from 65.7 to 78.1 with alfalfa silage showing the lowest maximum gas production. The results obtained in this study clearly showed that maximum gas production increased with increased percentage of whole-crop maize in the silage mixtures (r = 0.940, p<0.001). It was concluded that ensiling alfalfa with whole-crop maize improved the pH, OMD and ME values. However, trials with animals are required to see how these differences in silage mixtures affect animal performance.

Alfalfa (approximately 31% DM) was untreated or treated with a silage inoculant containing the lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum L-54, and L. plantarum Aber F1. The inoculant was added at a normal and a high dose as a freeze-dried powder that had been mixed with water just prior to application, or it was grown with nutrients the day before and added as a fresh culture. The actual application rate of lactic acid bacteria was 1.19 x 10(5) for the normal dose, 4.30 x 10(5) for the high dose, and 5.10 x 10(5) for the fresh culture. All inoculated silages showed a faster increase in the rate of lactic acid production and a decrease in the drop in pH over the first 24 h of ensiling compared with untreated silage. The effect was greatest for silage treated with the fresh culture and was supported by the fact that this treatment had numbers of lactic acid bacteria that increased faster than in other treatments. Inoculation also generally resulted in a fermentation profile that was more homolactic (more lactic acid and less acetic acid, ethanol, and NH(3)-N) than for untreated silage, but the effect was greatest for the fresh culture. Inoculation did not affect in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestion or the concentrations of neutral detergent fiber or total N in silages. The recovery of dry matter was greater in silage that was treated with a high level of the freeze-dried culture or with the fresh culture when compared with the untreated control. This study showed that application of a silage inoculant as a freeze-dried culture or as a fresh culture resulted in alfalfa silage with a more homolactic fermentation profile. The effect was greatest from addition of the fresh culture.

To develop the fermentation quality and chemical composition of alfalfa (Medicago sativa Lam.) silage, plants were inoculated with different lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains at field 24 hours before harvest. Methods: The treatment groups were as follow: silage without additive as a control and ino culated with each strains of Lactobacillus brevis (LS5522), Leuconostoc citerum (L. citerum; L7061), Lactobacillus bifermentans (L. bifermentans; LS6521), Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum; LS33) and L. plantarum (LS722). All the silages were stored at 25°C. Para meters such as pH, microorganism and volatile fatty acid contents, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, net gas, metabolizable energy, organic matter digestibility, dry matter intake and relative feed value were measured to determine fermentation quality, chemical compositions and relative feed value of alfalfa silages. Results: Significant differences were found among the control and treated groups in terms of pH and microorganism contents at all opening times and crude protein, net gas, metabol izable energy and organic matter digestibility of final silage. The pH values ranged from 4.70 to 5.52 for all treatments and control silage had the highest value of overall treatments at T 75 d silages. Volatile fatty acid of silages was not influenced significantly by inoculations. However, lactic acid content of L. bifermentans (LS6521) was higher than the other treat ments. The highest metabolizable energy and organic matter digestibility were recorded from L. citerum (L7061) inoculation. In addition, no significant differences were found among treatments in terms of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, dry matter intake and relative feed value. Conclusion: Among the treated LAB isolates, L. bifermentans came into prominence especi ally in terms of organic acid composition and quality characters of silages.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of maturity stage on the nutritive value of wild mustard straw in terms of chemical composition, in situ, in vitro dry matter degradability and calculated ME. The nutritive values of wild mustard, Sinapsis arvensis hays harvested at three stages were evaluated by chemical composition, in vitro gas production and in situ dry matter degradation methods. Gas production or dry matter (DM) degradation were determined at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h and their kinetics were described using the equation p = a+b(1-e -ct ). Maturity had a significant effect on both the chemical composition and degradability of wild mustard. Neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) (p<0.001) increased with increasing maturity whereas the crude protein (CP) (p<0.001) decreased. The gas produced after 96 h incubation ranged between 64.7 and 81.5 ml per 0.200 g of dry matter. The gas production (ml) at all incubation times and estimated parameters decreased with increasing maturity of wild mustard. The gas production at all incubation times and estimated parameters (a, b (a+b), metabolizable energy (ME) and organic matter digestibility (OMD)) were negatively correlated with NDF and ADF. The DM disappearance after 96 h incubation ranged between 50.8 and 76.1%. The in situ DM disappearance at all incubation times and estimated parameters decreased with increasing maturity of wild mustard. The in situ dry matter disappearance at all incubation times and some estimated parameters (c, a, b and effective dry matter degradability (EDMD)) were negatively correlated with NDF and ADF but positively correlated with CP. The nutritive value of wild mustard continually changed as it matured. Wild mustard, harvested at the proper stage of maturity offers considerable potential as a high quality forage for ruminants during the winter feeding period. The present study showed that if higher quality forage is an objective, wild mustard should be harvested at the early flowering stage.

Title of the manuscript: Effects of different nitrogen doses and cultivars on fermentation quality and nutritive value of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) silages ABSTRACT Objective: The fermentation profile and silage quality of 3 Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) (Devis, Hellen and Trinova) cultivars (cvs. Devis, Hellen and Trinova) treated with 5 nitrogen doses (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha -1 ) were evaluated. Methods: The experiment was laid out in split plot in randomized completed block design with three replications. Annual ryegrass cultivars used in this study were have been commonly grown in Turkey. Nitrogen doses were set inas main plot and nitrogen doses in split plot in the field. while Annual ryegrass as split plot in the field experiments. Plants were harvested atin full-flowering stage with DM content about 220 g kg -1 for first cutting and 260 g kg -1 for second cutting. Samples Harvested plants were chopped theoretically into 2-3 cm lengths for ensiling. Chopped fresh materials were ensilaged by compressing in 2 L plastic jars about 3±0.1 kg.Results: Effects of N doses on dry matter, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, dry matter digestibility, relative feed value, crude protein, pH, ammonia nitrogen, lactic acid, acetic acid and lactic acid/acetic acid were statistically significant while water soluble carbohydrate, ash and organic matter were not statistically different. Ammonia nitrogen, crude protein, ash, organic matter, lactic acid and lactic acid/acetic acid were affected by cultivars but the other parameters were not. Increasing nitrogen applications positively affected the chemical composition of annual ryegrass silage. consequently silage quality. A c c e p t e d A r t i c l eEspecially the significant increase in protein content was remarkable, however, silage fermentation properties were adversely affected by the increasing nitrogen dose. Conclusion:150 kg ha -1 nitrogen dose can be recommended for annual ryegrass harvested atin full blooming stage. Even though the silage fermentation properties of the used cultivars were similar, cv. Devis gave better results than the others in terms of silage pH and relative feed value.

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Ülkemizde silaj yapımı son yıllarda giderek artan bir hızla yaygınlaşmaktadır. Silaj yapımının tekniğine uygun şekilde yapılması, üstün kaliteli silaj elde edilmesi için bir ön şarttır. Bununla birlikte silaj mikro florası, bunların birbirleri ile ilişkileri ve silo içerisindeki gelişimleri, silaj kalitesini belirleyen ana unsurlardan biridir. Ancak, ülkemizde silaj yapımı ile ilgilenen işletmelerin önemli bir çoğunluğu, bilgi eksikliği, dikkatsizlik veya önemsememe gibi nedenlerle, bu konuya gereken önemi vermedikleri için, silaj kalitesinde önemli kayıplar yaşanabilmekte ve silajın aerobik stabilitesinde azalmalar görülmektedir. Bazen bu yanlış uygulamaların sonucunda hayvan sağlığı tehdit edilmekte veya hayvansal ürünlerde de kalite kayıpları yaşanmaktadır. Silaj yapımında uygun teknikleri uygulayabilmek için, silaj mikro florasının davranışlarını ve sonuçlarını bilmek büyük öneme sahiptir. Bu makalede, literatür bilgilerine göre, silaj içerisindeki mikro floranın genel durumu, birbirleri ile ilişkileri, fermentasyon yönü ve silaj kalitesine etkileri incelenmiştir.