Browsing by Subject "biologinen säilöntäaine"

Tiivistelmä/Referat – Abstract The long period of indoor feeding in Finland emphasizes the importance of good quality silage in dairy cow nutrition. Silage additives are used to ensure successful ensiling. Silage inoculants enhance silage lactic acid fermentation when lactic acid bacteria and sometimes enzymes and other fermentative bacteria are added to silage. Lactic acid content has been higher and pH lower in silages treated with inoculant than in silages without any additive. Aerobic stability of silage and total mixed ration (TMR) has been better with silage treated using inoculant compared to silage without additives. In some studies, the digestibility of dry matter and organic matter has been better with inoculant-treated silage. Silage dry matter intake has been improved with silage treated with inoculants in studies performed with dairy cows, growing beef cattle and sheep. Milk yield has increased in some studies with biological additive when compared to silage without additives. The aim of this study was to examine whether ensiling grass silage with biological additive influences feed intake or milk production of dairy cows in comparison to silage without inoculant. The study was conducted at the research farm of University of Helsinki. First cut timothy – meadow fescue sward was cut and wilted for 46 hours. The grass was harvested in round bales wrapped with 8 film layers either using silage inoculant (treatment B, with lactic acid bacteria and enzymes) or without additive (treatment A). A series of five bales of each silage were prepared one after another. The grass had dry matter of 183 g/kg before wilting and 328 g/kg after wilting. Water soluble carbohydrate concentration was 121 g/kg dry matter (DM). The silages were stored for 174 days before the beginning of the feeding trial. There were no differences in silage fermentation quality. Both silages had high concentration of lactic acid (100 g/kg DM). The dry matter contents were 296 and 294 g/kg and pH 4.25 and 4.31 for the inoculated silage and the silage without additive, respectively. Eight Finnish Ayrshire cows (95 days in milk, standard deviation 25.9) of second or later parity were used. The cows were kept in tie stalls during the trial. A double-reversal design was used with two treatments sequences (ABBA or BAAB) of 21 days each. The cows were fed with total mixed ration consisting of 65% (dry matter basis) of silage (inoculated or without additive), 20% of concentrate mixture, 13% rapeseed meal and 1.5% mineral supplement. Dry matter intake was 1,1 kg/d higher with the inoculated silage (p=0.01) than with untreated silage. Digestibility of dietary dry matter (p=0.02) and organic matter (p=0.02) was lower with inoculated than untreated silage. There was no difference in milk production between treatments (p=0.65). This study indicates that good fermentation quality of wilted (DM 300 g kg) grass silage can be achieved without additives. The increased dry matter intake or the lower digestibility of the diet containing inoculated silage cannot be explained by the silage composition or fermentation profile.