İsmail Filya

The effect of Propionibacterium acidipropionici, with or without Lactobacillus plantarum, on the fermentation and aerobic stability of wheat, sorghum and maize silages

Aims:  To determine the effect of Propionibacterium acidipropionici, alone or in combination with Lactobacillus plantarum, on the fermentation and aerobic stability of wheat, sorghum and maize silages.

The effect of Lactobacillus buchneri on the fermentation, aerobic stability and ruminal degradability of maize silage.

Aims:  To evaluate the effect of Lactobacillus buchneri, heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB), on the fermentation, aerobic stability and ruminal degradability of whole‐crop maize silages under laboratory conditions. Two homofermentative LAB were tested for the purpose of comparison.

Effect of a Chemical Preservative on Fermentation, Aerobic Stability and Nutritive Value of Whole-Crop Wheat Silage

Abstract Filya, I. and Sucu, E. 2007. Effect of a chemical preservative on fermentation, aerobic stability and nutritive value of whole-crop wheat silage. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 32: 133–138. To evaluate the effect of formic acid based preservative (FAP) on fermentation, aerobic stability and nutritive value of whole-crop wheat silage, wheat was harvested at early dough stage and ensiled for 90 d with 0, 2, 3 and 4 ml/kg FAP. The FAP treatment did not affect the concentrations of lactic and acetic acid but increased formic and propionic acid and decreased concentrations of butyric acid, ethanol, ammonia-N and gas losses of the silages. Under aerobic conditions, FAP treated silages had lower pH, CO2 production and the numbers of yeasts (except FA2) and moulds than the control silage (P<0.05). Contents of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin and cellulose decreased in the FAP treated silages, but 96 h in vitro gas production and in vitro organic matter digestibility of the silages were not affected by FAP treatment. Applying 4 ml/kg FAP on wheat silages was most effective.

Effects of ensiling density on nutritive value of maize and sorghum silages

Studies were conducted to determine the effects of different ensiling densities on fermentation, aerobic stability, and nutritive value of maize and sorghum silages. Maize and sorghum were harvested at dough (363 g/kg) and milk stages (275 g/kg), respectively. Herbages were chopped approximately 1.5 cm after harvest and then ensiled in mini silos at high and low-bulk densities for 8.5 weeks. Different bulk densities were achieved by ensiling different weights of herbage in the fixed-volume mini silos (1.5-L anaerobic jars, Weck, Germany). The obtained dry matter (DM) densities were 168 and 216 kg of DM/m3 for maize forage and 132 and 178 kg of DM/m3 for sorghum forage. Fermentation kinetics, the rate of aerobic deterioration upon aerobic exposure, and nutrient digestibility were followed during the periods of ensiling (on days 2, 4, 8, 15, and 60). In all cases, increased packing density resulted in silages with lower acetate content, ammonium N levels, and fermentation losses, but lactate content did not differ. Butyrate was detected in appreciable amounts only in sorghum silage. Propionate was not detected in any silage. Tightly packed silages remained stable upon exposure to air. Tight packing increases the digestibly of nutrients and improves the energy content of silages. These data show that high density limits air infiltration and reduces the oxidation loss during storage and feed-out. As a consequence, more dry matter is recovered and more energy is preserved.