Preservation of high-moisture maize — A comparison of gaseous and liquid anhydrous ammonia with methylene- bis-propionate

Abstract

Freshly harvested maize (22–24% moisture) was treated with either gaseous ammonia (0.9% dry basis), liquid anhydrous ammonia (1.3% dry basis), or methylene- bis-propionate (0.8% dry basis) and stored in metal bins. All treatments initially decreased the counts of bacteria and moulds. Growth of these microorganisms was prevented throughout the 6-month storage period by methylene- bis-propionate and for 5 months by gaseous anhydrous ammonia. Liquid anhydrous ammonia prevented mould growth for 4 months, while bacterial counts increased to pretreatment numbers after 1 month but did not increase further until after 5 months' storage. In feeding trials with steers, more efficient weight gains were obtained from the ammonia-preserved maize than from the methylene- bis-propionate preserved maize.