Effect of Inoculants and Sealing Delay on the Fermentation Quality of Early Harvested Wheat Forage

Abstract

Winter cereal silages can suffer from an inadequate fermentative path which can lead to aerobic instability. We evaluate the pre-ensiled conditions influencing the final fermentative quality and its aerobic stability. We studied the use of hetero/homofermentative inoculants on two early-harvest wheat samples (312 and 348 g/kg of dry matter—DM levels) undergoing three ensiling delays. The fermentative profiles were evaluated during the first ten d of ensiling, at 60 d and after 7 and 14 d of aerobic exposure. Aerobic stability was recorded during fourteen d after the silo opening. Significant (p Pichia and Geotricum).

Keywords

• wheat silage
• winter cereal crops
• fermentative quality
• inoculants
• aerobic stability