Microbial status, aerobic stability and fermentation of maize silage sealed with an oxygen barrier film or standard polyethylene film

Szilvia Orosz,Judit Galló,Simon Wigley,Zsolt Bíró,John Michael Wilkinson

doi:10.23986/afsci.6705

Szilvia Orosz, Judit Galló + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.6705

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Abstract

An experiment was conducted to compare a bunker silo sealing system comprising an oxygen barrier film (OB: 45μm thickness) with protective woven polypropylene with one comprising standard black polyethylene film (S; 125μm thickness) with protective tyres. Analysis of samples taken to 30 cm depth after 365 days of storage showed no differences in pH or lactic acid between the two sealing systems. There were no differences in aerobic bacterial count between silages. Whilst 2.56 log10 CFU moulds g-1 fresh weight were found in samples of silage sealed with S, no moulds were found in samples of silage sealed with OB. Aerobic stability, averaged 249 hours and 184 hours for OB and S, respectively. The OB system probably inhibited the development of the micro-organisms responsible for the initiation of aerobic deterioration to a greater extent than the standard silo sealing system.

Highlights

Many factors can affect the deterioration and loss of nutrients during the conservation and feed-out of silage, including crop maturity, the use of additive, particle size, rate of silo filling, packing density, type of plastic sealing and the fermentation profile of the ensiled material (Johnson et al 2002, Holmes and Bolsen 2009)
Maize silage is susceptible to aerobic deterioration when it is exposed to oxygen in the silo or in the feed bunk (Ashbell and Weinberg 1992, Kung et al 1998)
There were no significant differences in the concentrations of dry matter, crude protein, crude ash, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) or acid detergent lignin (ADL) in the initial fresh maize crop at the point of ensilement under either the oxygen barrier (OB) or the S sealing systems

Summary

Introduction

Many factors can affect the deterioration and loss of nutrients during the conservation and feed-out of silage, including crop maturity, the use of additive, particle size, rate of silo filling, packing density, type of plastic sealing and the fermentation profile of the ensiled material (Johnson et al 2002, Holmes and Bolsen 2009). Bolsen and Bolsen (2006) found that maize silage and high mositure maize grain in the top 0 to 45 cm under the OB covering had better fermentation profiles and lower estimated additional spoilage losses of OM compared to the crops stored under standard plastic film. The aim of this large-scale experiment was to compare the effect of a standard sealing system comprising a single layer of standard plastic film with a system comprising an oxygen barrier film and protective woven polypropylene tarpaulin, on fermentation characteristics, microbial status and aerobic stability of the top layer (30 cm), under conditions found in commercial practice in Hungary

Materials and methods

Results

Discussion