A new sterilization and inoculation method in silage research |
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Authors: | K Mogodiniyai Kasmaei V Passoth R Spörndly P Udén |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden;2. Department of Microbiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden |
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Abstract: | The study aimed at evaluating an effective sterilization–inoculation technique to facilitate silage research on the effect of forage microflora on fermentation variables. The sterilization effect of heating at 60°C for 3 h + 103°C for 15 h was tested on samples of grass, grass–clover, white clover and maize, pre‐dried at 60°C to a dry‐matter (DM) content >900 g kg?1. The ensilability of treated samples, reconstituted to original DM concentration (250–390 g kg?1), was assessed by inoculation with microfloras extracted from the original samples. Microfloral inoculants were obtained by a combination of centrifugation (15 500 g for 40 min) and filtration (0·45 and 0·22 μm pore sizes) of the supernatant. The sterilization treatment effectively sterilized the forage samples but decreased water soluble carbohydrates by 49% and N buffer solubility by 22% and increased the acid detergent insoluble N proportion of total N by 53% (P < 0·05). The reconstituted silages had 18% less lactic acid, 20% less ethanol and 37% less ammonia‐N (P < 0·05), but volatile fatty acids and 2,3‐butanediol did not differ from the untreated silages (P > 0·05). Counts of lactic acid bacteria, enterobacteria, clostridia, yeasts and moulds in the two silage treatments were also similar (P > 0·05). It is concluded that, despite causing chemical and physical alterations, the sterilization–inoculation technique evaluated could be a useful tool for future studies on the effects of microflora on ensiling results. |
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Keywords: | inoculation microflora silage sterilization |
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