Physico-Chemical and Mycological Evaluation of Fodder from a Cattle Farm

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to carry out some analyses in order to establish the physico-chemical composition and the fungal load of the plant substrates used for raising animals, in a cattle farm in the Moldova area in 2022. There were five categories of samples (75 determinations in total) - alfalfa hay, corn silage, mixed feed ration, concentrates, corn grains and were analysed randomly from the farm. The results of the physico-chemical composition of the feed by the FT-NIRS technique were in accordance with the regulations in force and no significant differences were found between the samples, it is certain that the humidity had a higher percentage, hence the fact that there were developed species of fungi speaking from the point of view of mycotic contamination. The highest fungal load was recorded in corn grains and corn silage, and the lowest value was recorded in alfalfa hay. The number of colony-forming units per gram of sample was determined by the serial dilution technique in a double agar layer. The results obtained during the analysed period highlighted the presence of the genus Penicillium to the greatest extent (28%), and the lowest percentage was recorded for the genus Cladosporium (5.3%).

Keywords

• contamination
• fodder
• mycological analyses
• physical-chemical analyses