Enzyme, Bacterial Inoculant, and Formic Acid Effects on Silage Composition of Orchardgrass and Alfalfa

Abstract

We evaluated the effects of cellulase (from Trichoderma longibrachiatum) application rates on neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration and fermentation products of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) silages harvested with decreasing dry matter (DM) digestibility. Additionally, the impacts of inoculant (Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus cerevisiae), pectinase (from Aspergillus niger), or formic acid on silage composition were studied. Forages wilted to a DM content of about 320 g/kg were ensiled in laboratory silos for 60 d. Cellulase, combined with inoculant, was applied at 2, 10, and 20 ml/kg of herbage (at least 2500 IU/ml). Cellulase at 10 ml/kg was also applied alone or in combination with pectinase and inoculant or formic acid. The NDF concentration of orchardgrass silage decreased with increasing cellulase up to 20 ml/kg, at which NDF content was decreased by 30%. The NDF concentration of alfalfa silage decreased with increasing cellulase application up to 10 ml/kg, at which NDF content was decreased by 13%. Immature plants were more responsive to cellulase treatment than mature plants. Cellulase at 2 ml/kg combined with inoculant improved fermentation characteristics of the silages but generally, there was no effect on silage fermentation by higher cellulase applications, resulting in an accumulation of sugar. The improved fermentation of orchardgrass treated with cellulase and inoculant was mostly related to the effect of inoculant, whereas cellulase alone improved fermentation characteristics of alfalfa silage and this effect was enhanced by addition of inoculant. Decreased NDF and increased sugar concentrations did not improve the in vitro DM digestibility of cellulase-treated silages.

Effects of sucrose, formic acid and lactic acid bacteria inoculant on quality, <i>in vitro</i> rumen digestibility and fermentability of drooping wild ryegrass (<i>Elymus nutans</i> Griseb.) silage

“…So the FA addition during drooping wild ryegrass ensiling could have caused the microorganisms inhibition from the beginning of silage fermentation, which may explain lower contents of end products fermentation such as lactic acid and ammonia N but higher of WSC. Similar results were also reported by Nadeau et al (2000) and Contreras-Govea et al (2013). The absence of butyric acid content in treated silages might be due to the lowered pH inhibiting the growth and proteolytic activity of microorganisms such as Clostridia bacteria (Heinritz et al, 2012).…”

Effects of bacterial inoculants and an enzyme on the fermentation quality and aerobic stability of ensiled whole-crop sweet sorghum

“…Faber et al (1989) attributed the lack of response with LAB inoculation to a lower environmental temperature that inhibited hemicellulose degradation. The LB+E and LP reduced (P <0.05) the fibre content of silage compared with the other treatments, consistent with other studies (Nadeau et al, 2000). In contrast, some reports showed that LAB+enzyme inoculants (Meeske et al, 1993;Kung et al, 2007) and LAB (Faber et al, 1989) did not affect cell wall contents in silages.…”

Efectos de enzimas e inoculantes sobre la composición del ensilaje de maíz

“…Lo anterior también concuerda con lo reportado por Sheperd y Kung (1996) quienes evaluaron un producto enzimático (Cornzyme®) a base de celulasas y hemicelulasas en el ensilaje de maíz, encontrando una disminución en FDN y FDA. Spolaestra et al (1992), Nadeau et al (2000a) y Dean et al (2005) también reportaron una disminución en FDN después de la adición de enzimas celulolíticas a ensilajes de maíz, alfalfa y pasto, mencionando estos últimos que ciertas enzimas fibrolíticas pueden aumentar la digestibilidad, fermentación y estabilidad aeróbica del ensilaje de pasto bermuda. Por el contrario, Chen et al (1994) al control, en los ensilaje H9403 (tabla I) y 238W (tabla IV) con la adición de SA, mientras que la aplicación de BS hizo lo mismo en 238W (p<0,05).…”

“…De acuerdo con Nadeau et al (2000a) el efecto más consistente de las enzimas degradadoras de pared celular, como las celulasas y hemicelulasas, es que reducen la concentración de los carbohidratos estructurales. Esta baja concentración de pared celular esta asociada con mayores consumos de materia seca y por ende en una mejoría del comportamiento animal.…”