Effects of an Enzyme Addition on Corn Silage Fermentation

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Whole plant corn silage was ensiled for 0, 2, 6, 14, 30, and 50 d in triplicate plastic silo bags, with or without addition of a commercial cellulase and xylanase enzyme mixture (230 mL/ton). After each fermentation period, silage was removed and analyzed for DM, pH, water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), Total N, ADF, NDF, and lactic acid. Samples from 50 d silage bags were analyzed for in situ DM and NDF disappearance. Aerobic stability of silage was recorded upon opening 30 d silage bags. No differences were noted for pH, DM, or ammonia (percentage of total N). The WSC content (DM basis) was higher ( P < .05) at 6 d for enzyme-treated silage (4.27 vs 3.91%). Increases in lactic acid levels for treated silage were noted after 2 d of fermentation, however this was significant only at 30 d ( P < .10). Reductions in ADF and NDF concentrations were significant at 50 d for enzyme-treated silage ( P < .10). No differences were observed for in situ disappearance of DM. After 48 h of ruminal incubation, control silage had higher NDF disappearance. Following 3 d of silage exposure to air, temperature of enzyme-treated silage rose dramatically and declined to temperatures similar to the control at 5 d. Although silage was lower in ADF and NDF after 50 d of fermentation, these data suggest that an application of a commercial enzyme mixture to corn silage did not appreciably change silage fermentation or composition.