Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T13:47:09.842Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effect of bacterial inoculants on kikuyu silage quality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

M. De Figueiredo  and
J. P. Marais
M. De Figueiredo
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, Cedara Agricultural Institute, Private Bag X9059, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
J. P. Marais
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, Cedara Agricultural Institute, Private Bag X9059, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Two commercial bacterial inoculants (Lacto-flora and Ecosyl) were added to kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum) at ensiling, in 1985 and 1988 respectively, at Cedara, South Africa, using laboratory silos. In 1985 (Expt 1), Lacto-flora was added on its own and in combination with the enzymes Celluclast or SP249. In 1988 (Expt 2), Ecosyl was added on its own and in combination with molasses, at two levels of addition.

The addition of Lacto-flora alone did not significantly increase the lactic acid bacteria or the lactic acid content of the treated silage. However, treated silage contained 53·6% less iso-butyric acid and 53·7% less ammonia than the control silage. Kikuyu silage supplemented with a combination of Lacto-flora and Celluclast or SP249 had higher numbers of lactic acid bacteria at ensiling (0·231 × 108/ml) than the control silage or silage receiving Lacto-flora alone. However, only silage supplemented with the combination of Lacto-flora and Celluclast had a significantly higher lactic acid content (2·23 compared with 0·04, 0·18 and 0·13% DM for the control silage, silages with Lactoflora and with a combination of Lacto-flora +SP249, respectively). Nevertheless, this silage contained 19·78% more acetic than lactic acid.

Silage supplemented with Ecosyl on its own did not differ significantly in digestibility, loss of dry matter, ammonia, total non-structural carbohydrates, lactic acid and crude protein, from the untreated silage. A significant decrease in silage pH (from 5·08 to 4·70) was observed when Ecosyl was added together with molasses at the higher level of addition only. However, no other benefit was obtained by the addition of Ecosyl in combination with molasses.

Type
Crops and Soils
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 122 , Issue 1 , February 1994 , pp. 53 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, L. A., Watson, S. L. & Ferguson, W. S. (1937). The effect of the addition of various materials and bacterial cultures to grass silage at the time of making on the subsequent bacterial and chemical changes. Journal of Agricultural Science 27, 294–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, R., Gracey, H. I., Kennedy, S. J., Unsworth, E. F. & Steen, R. W. J. (1989). Evaluation studies in the development of a commercial bacterial inoculant as a additive for grass silage. 1. Using pilot-scale tower silos. Grass and Forage Science 44, 361–369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Archibald, J. G., Kuzmeski, J. W. & Russell, S. (1960). Grass silage quality as affected by crop composition and by additives. Journal of Dairy Science 43, 1648–1653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnett, A. J. G. (1954). Silage Fermentation. London: Butterworths Scientific Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buckle, A. E. (1985). Silage. Microbial Studies. Research and Development Report. Agricultural Science Service. Reference book 257 (85). Slough, UK.Google Scholar
Carpintero, M. C., Holding, A. J. & McDonald, P. (1969). Fermentation studies on lucerne. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 20, 677–681.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cochran, W. G. (1950). Estimation of bacterial densities by means of the ‘most probable number’. Biometrics 6, 105–116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Figueiredo, M. C. V. (1987). Factors affecting the quality of Pennisetum clandestinum (kikuyu grass) silage. PhD thesis, University of Natal, South Africa.Google Scholar
De Figueiredo, M. C. V. (1991). Effect of enzyme additives on kikuyu silage quality. Journal of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa 8, 110–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Genstat, 4.04 (1983). A General Statistical Program. Harpenden, England: Rothamsted Experimental Station.Google Scholar
Gibson, T., Stirling, A. C., Keddie, R. M. & Rosenberger, R. F. (1958). Bacteriological changes in silage made at controlled temperatures. Journal of General Microbiology 19, 112–129.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibson, T.Stirling, A. C., Keddie, R. M. & Rosenberger, R. F. (1961). Bacteriological changes in silage as affected by laceration of the fresh grass. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 24, 60–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gordon, F. J. (1989). A further study on the evaluation through lactating cattle of a bacterial inoculant as an additive for grass silage. Grass and Forage Science 44, 353–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goto, I. & Minson, D. J. (1977). Prediction of the dry matter digestibility of tropical grasses using a pepsincellulase assay. Animal Feed Science and Technology 2, 247–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrigan, W. F. & McCance, M. E. (1966). Laboratory Methods in Microbiology. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Henderson, A. R. & McDonald, P. (1984). The effect of a range of commercial inoculants on the biochemical changes during the ensilage of grass in laboratory studies. Research and Development in Agriculture 1, 171–176.Google Scholar
Jones, D. I. H. & Hayward, M. V. (1973). A cellulase digestion technique for predicting the dry matter digestibility of grasses. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 24, 1419–1426.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, D. I. H. & Hayward, M. V. (1975). The effect of pepsin pretreatment of herbage on the prediction of dry matter digestibility from solubility in fungal cellulase solutions. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 26, 711–718.Google Scholar
Keddie, R. M. (1959). The properties and classification of lactobacilli isolated from grass and silage. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 22, 403–416.Google Scholar
Kempton, A. G. & San Clemente, C. L. (1959). Chemistry and microbiology of forage-crop silage. Applied Microbiology 7, 362–367.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kennedy, S. J., Gracey, H. I., Unsworth, E. F., Steen, R. W. J. & Anderson, R. (1989). Evaluation studies in the development of a commercial bacterial inoculant as an additive for grass silage. 2. Responses in finishing cattle. Grass and Forage Science 44, 371–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kistner, A. (1960). An improved method for viable counts of bacteria of ovine rumen which ferment carbohydrates. Journal of General Microbiology 23, 565–576.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Langston, C. W., Irvin, H., Gordon, C. H., Bouma, C., Wiseman, H. G., Melin, C. G., Moore, L. A. & McCalmont, J. R. (1958). Microbiology and Chemistry of Grass Silage. United States Department of Agriculture: Technical Bulletin 1187.Google Scholar
Marais, J. P. (1979). Evaluation of acid hydrolysis procedures for the rapid determination of total non-structural carbohydrates in pasture species. Agrochemophysica 11, 1–3.Google Scholar
Marais, J. P. & Evenwell, T. K. (1983). The use of trichloroacetic acid as precipitant for the determination of ‘true protein’ in animals feeds. South African Journal of Animal Science 13, 138–139.Google Scholar
Mayne, C. S. (1990). An evaluation of an inoculant of Lactobacillus plantarum as an additive for grass silage for dairy cattle. Animal Production 51, 1–13.Google Scholar
McCarrick, R. B. (1969). A comparison of seven additives used in ensiling high-moisture grass/clover pastures. Journal of the British Grassland Society 24, 25–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, P., Stirling, A. C., Henderson, A. R. & Whittenbury, R. (1964). Fermentation studies on inoculated herbages. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 15, 429–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, P., Stirling, A. C., Henderson, A. R. & Whittenbury, R. (1965). Fermentation studies on red clover. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 16, 549–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minson, D. J. & McLeod, M. N. (1972). The in vitro technique: its modification for estimating digestibility of large numbers of tropical pasture samples. Division of Tropical Pastures – Technical paper 8, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization, Brisbane, Australia.Google Scholar
Muck, R. E. (1989). Initial bacterial numbers on lucerne prior to ensiling. Grass and Forage Science 44, 19–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Narasimhalu, P., Kunelius, H. T. & Winter, K. A. (1982). Rapid determination of dry matter in grass silage of Lolium sp. using a microwave oven. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 62, 233–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ohyama, Y., Masaki, S. & Morichi, T. (1973). Effects of inoculation of Lactobacillus plantarum and addition of glucose at ensiling on the silage quality. Journal of Zootechnkal Science 44, 404–410.Google Scholar
Pitt, R. E. (1990). The probability of an inoculant effectiveness in alfalfa silages. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 33, 1771–1778.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitt, R. E. & Leibensperger, R. Y. (1987). The effectiveness of silage inoculants: a systems approach. Agricultural Systems 25, 27–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pryce, J. D. (1969). A modification of the Barker-Summerson method for the determination of lactic acid. Analyst 94, 1151–1152.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rooke, J. A., Bell, S. L. & Armstrong, D. G. (1985). The chemical composition of grass silage prepared with and without pre-treatment with inoculants containing Lactobacillus plantarum. Animal Feed Science and Technology 13, 269–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rooke, J. A., Maya, F. M., Arnold, J. A. & Armstrong, D. G. (1988). The chemical composition and nutritive value of grass silages prepared with no additive or with the application of additives containing either Lactobacillus plantarum or formic acid. Grass and Forage Science 43, 87–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rooke, J. A., Borman, A. J. & Armstrong, D. G. (1990). The effect of inoculation with Lactobacillus plantarum on the fermentation in laboratory silos of herbage low in water-soluble carbohydrate. Grass and Forage Science 45, 143–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenberger, R. F. (1956). The isolation and cultivation of obligate anaerobes from silage. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 19, 173–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seale, D. R. & Henderson, A. R. (1984). Effect of inoculation with homofermentative and heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria on silage fermentation. In Proceedings of the 7th Silage Conference, Belfast, pp. 5–6.Google Scholar
Steen, R. W. J., Unsworth, E. F., Gracey, H. I., Kennedy, S. J., Anderson, R. & Kilpatrick, D. J. (1989). Evaluation studies in the development of a commercial bacterial inoculant as an additive for grass silage. 3. Responses in growing cattle and interaction with protein supplementation. Grass and Forage Science 44, 381–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stirling, A. C. & Whittenbury, R. (1963). Sources of the lactic acid bacteria occurring in silage. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 26, 86–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supelco, INC. (1975). Analysis of VFAs from Anaerobic Fermentation. Bulletin 748E, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Svensson, L. & Tveit, M. (1964). Effect of different supplements on the fermentation process in silage. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 15, 78–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, J. W. (1978). Preservatives for conserved forage crops. Journal of Animal Science 47, 721–735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tilley, J. M. A. & Terry, R. A. (1963). A two-stage technique for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. Journal of the British Grassland Society 18, 104–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weatherburn, M. W. (1967). Phenol-hypochlorite reaction for determination of ammonia. Analytical Chemistry 39, 971–974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wieringa, G. W. (1960). Some factors affecting silage fermentation. In Proceedings of the 8th International Grassland Congress (Ed. Skidmore, C. L.), pp. 497–502. Hurley, Berkshire, England: Grassland Research Institute.Google Scholar
Woolford, M. K. (1984). The Silage Fermentation. New York: Marcel Dekker.Google Scholar
Woolford, M. K. & Sawczyc, M. K. (1984). An investigation into the effect of cultures of lactic acid bacteria on fermentation in silage. 2. Use of selected strains in laboratory-scale silages. Grass and Forage Science 39, 149–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar