Abstract
Whole-crop cereal silage represents an important component of ruminant diets and is used as a substrate for biogas production. Due to the scarcity of data on whole-crop rye (Secale cereale L., WCR), our study aimed to evaluate the effects of a range of biological and chemical additives of different compositions on the fermentation and aerobic stability of silage made from this species. In addition, the production of various volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which potentially contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, was monitored. Regardless of additive treatment, all WCR silages were well fermented as reflected by the complete absence of butyric acid. Inoculants containing Lactobacillus buchneri and chemical additives reduced dry matter (DM) losses during fermentation for 53 days (p < 0.001), which were closely related with the concentration of ethanol upon silo opening (R2 = 0.88, p < 0.001). Silage treated with Lactobacillus buchneri, alone or in combination with a homofermentative strain, had the lowest yeast count (p < 0.001) and, simultaneously, the highest aerobic stability (p < 0.001). Chemical additives outperformed all other additives by largely restricting the formation of ethyl esters of lactic and acetic acids (p < 0.001). The concentration of ethanol strongly correlated with those of ethyl lactate (R2 = 0.94, p < 0.001), ethyl acetate (R2 = 0.85, p < 0.001), and total ethyl esters (R2 = 0.94, p < 0.001). The use of a simple linear regression model exclusively based on the ethanol content proved useful to predict the concentration of total ethyl esters in WCR silage (R2 = 0.93, p < 0.001).
Highlights
Whole-crop cereal silage made from wheat, barley, triticale, oats, and rye, has been widely produced as feed for ruminants [1], especially in climatic regions, which do not support the cultivation of maize [2]
The efficiency of the fermentation process was improved by reducing the Dry matter (DM) losses in the treatments LABhe, LABheho, NHS and BSP, but only chemical additives restricted water-soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) utilization during the fermentation process (Table 2)
High losses of DM during the fermentation of whole-crop rye (WCR) silage were caused by excessive ethanol High losses of DM during the fermentation of ofethyl
Summary
Whole-crop cereal silage made from wheat, barley, triticale, oats, and rye, has been widely produced as feed for ruminants [1], especially in climatic regions, which do not support the cultivation of maize [2]. It can be successfully used as a substrate for anaerobic digesters to produce biogas [3]. Dry matter (DM) yield, nutritive value and biogas production potential of the silage were shown to strongly depend on the stage of maturity at harvest, which is usually between early milk and dough stage [1,3,4,5,6,7]. The activity of clostridia and yeasts causes DM losses during fermentation, or feed-out, by producing CO2 [15], and decreases the nutritive value of the silage [16,17,18], thereby increasing silage production cost and reducing farm profitability
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