The Effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria+Enzyme Mixture Silage Inoculant on Wheat Silage

This study was carried out to determine the effects of a commercial lactic acid bacteria+enzyme inoculants used as silage additive on the fermentation, crude nutritient contents, cell wall fractions and in vitro dry and organic matter digestibilities wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) harvested and ensiled at milk and dough stages of maturity. Sil-All (Altech, UK) containing water soluble Pediococcus acidilactici, Lactobacillus plantarum and Streptococcus faecium bacteria with cellulase, hemicellulase, pentosonase and amylase was used as bacterial inoculants. The inoculant was applied to the silages at 6.0 log(10) cfu/g levels. Wheats were ensiled in 2 liter glass jars and stored at 25 +/- 2 degrees C in the laboratory. Three jars from each group were sampled for pH, ammonia nitrogen, water soluble carbohydrates, organic acids (acetic, butyric and lactic), crude nutritients, cell wall fractions and microbiological analyses following the 75-day ensiling period. In additions in vitro dry and organic matters digestibility of the silages were determined with enzymatic methods. The inoculant improved fermentation characteristics, decreased neutral and acid detergent fiber contents of wheat silages. However, the in vitro dry and organic matter digestibilities of the silages were not affected by the treatments.