Abstract
Whole-crop rye harvested before maturity represents a valuable forage for silage production. Due to the scarcity of data on fermentation characteristics and aerobic stability (ASTA) and the lack of information on mycotoxin formation during aeration of early-cut rye (ECR) silage after silo opening, we evaluated the effects of different additive types and compositions. Wilted forage was treated with various biological and chemical additives, ensiled in 1.5-L glass jars and stored for 64 days. Fermentation pattern, yeast and mould counts and ASTA were determined at silo opening. In total 34 mycotoxins were analysed in wilted forage and in silage before and after 240 h of air exposure. Chemical additives caused the lowest dry matter (DM) losses during fermentation accompanied with the lowest ethanol production and the highest water-soluble carbohydrate concentration. Aerobic deterioration, which started within two days after silo opening in silage left untreated and inoculated with homofermentative lactic acid bacteria, was prevented by the combined use of hetero- and homofermentative lactic acid bacteria and the chemical additive containing sodium nitrite, hexamethylene tetramine and potassium sorbate. Moreover, these two additives largely restricted the formation of the mycotoxin roquefortine C to < 0.05 mg kg−1 DM after aeration, whereas untreated silage contained 85.2 mg kg−1 DM.
Highlights
Early-cut winter rye (ECR, Secale cereale L.) has been widely used for decades as a silage crop in Germany, especially in the eastern regions, and hybrids bred for forage production have become available
Aerobic deterioration, which started within two days after silo opening in silage left untreated and inoculated with homofermentative lactic acid bacteria, was prevented by the combined use of heteroand homofermentative lactic acid bacteria and the chemical additive containing sodium nitrite, hexamethylene tetramine and potassium sorbate
We found similar characteristics of the function describing the relationship between yeast count and aerobic stability to previous findings (R2 = 0.85, p < 0.01) [7]
Summary
Early-cut winter rye (ECR, Secale cereale L.) has been widely used for decades as a silage crop in Germany, especially in the eastern regions, and hybrids bred for forage production have become available. Rye cut early before maturity has very recently attracted attention in other European countries, e.g., Hungary [1]. It is grown as cover crop between cash crops [2], it is mainly used as forage for silage production in double-cropping systems with maize [3], but cultivation as a summer catch crop has been increasing [4]. The optimal stage of maturity is largely determined by the dietary requirements of the animals to which ECR silage is Agronomy 2020, 10, 1432; doi:10.3390/agronomy10091432 www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy
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