Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine to what extent the corn silages meet the recommended values for the distribution of particle fractions, as a physical parameter in the overall silage evaluation. For this study of the distribution of fractions of corn silage particles, three –year studies were conducted in ten counties of the Republic of Croatia, having 234, 231, and 230 samples, respectively, in the years 2021, 2022, and 2023. The distribution of particle structure of corn silage was measured by a method of sieving over three sieves using the Penn State Particle Separator. According to this method, a physical quality of the corn silage was evaluated based on the target values of particle distribution per sieve: 1st sieve 3 –8%, 2nd sieve 45 –65%, 3rd sieve 20 –30%, and at the bottom of the box up to 10%. In an intercounty comparison, the distribution values of corn silage particles in the years 2021 and 2022 were not statistically significant (P>0.05), while the differences in values in the year 2023 were statistically significant (P<0.05) only between Međimurje and Varaždin Counties. Following the values of the particle fractions by individual sieves, the best values were recorded on the sieve 2 in all three years, which was also statistically significant if compared to the sieve 1, sieve 3, and sieve 4 (box at the bottom), respectively. The values of particle structure between the individual classes of silage confirmed the statistically significant differences (P<0.05) only in the year 2022. Based on the obtained results related to the distribution of particle fractions, it is evident that the silage preparing technique needs to be improved.
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call