Abstract
Sugar cane is highly productive (dry matter.hectare-1), but after ensiling process nutritional quality is affected, thus additives are needed to control or minimize losses. This study aimed to evaluate if Lactobacillus plantarum LPBR01 strain used as silage inoculant for sugar cane can control fermentation losses. Sugar cane samples (72) were divided in two treatments with three replicates, control (no Lactobacillus) and treatment silage with Lactobacillus (106 CFU g-1 of silage). Nutritional composition of samples in different periods of fermentation (0, 7, 15, 30 and 45 days) was estimated by determining levels of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), hemicellulose (HEM), mineral matter (MM) and acid detergent lignin (ADL). Fermentative profile of the silage was characterized by determining sugars, ammoniacal nitrogen, acidity and pH at 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 hours. Inoculation of sugar cane silage with Lactobacillus plantarum LPBR01 strain presented no significant results (p ≤ 0, 5) however, interaction between treatment and day (p ≤ 0, 5) could be observed for the levels of ADF. The Lactobacillus plantarum LPBR01 strain was not efficient to control the fermentation losses that occur in the silages of sugar cane at the concentration used in this study.
Highlights
Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) cultivation in Brazil has been recently expanded mainly due to high yield per area
The main limitation for sugar cane silage production is the production of ethanol (Santos et al, 2008), which occurs due to the high content of soluble carbohydrates, resulting in a fast proliferation of yeasts, because these microorganisms metabolize carbohydrates by fermentation producing ethanol when in anaerobiosis (Mendes et al, 2008)
After the cut, material was stored in plastic bags and was inoculated with Lactobacillus plantarum (106 CFU g-1) through sprinkled individually in each microsilo
Summary
Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) cultivation in Brazil has been recently expanded mainly due to high yield per area. Production varies according to fertilization, but can reach over 140 tons of green matter per hectare (Ambrosano et al, 2011). It has become an alternative for animal nutrition and when processed as silage, it can provide a more convenient source. The main limitation for sugar cane silage production is the production of ethanol (Santos et al, 2008), which occurs due to the high content of soluble carbohydrates, resulting in a fast proliferation of yeasts, because these microorganisms metabolize carbohydrates by fermentation producing ethanol when in anaerobiosis (Mendes et al, 2008). The production of ethanol causes loss of dry matter and energy, the use of inoculants to minimize these losses can be an alternative (Schmidt et al, 2011)
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