The effect of three commercial silage additives on numbers of lactobacilli entering the silo at the onset of fermentation

There is considerable debate regarding the effectiveness of currently available silage inoculants in the ensilage process. The large-scale farm experiment reported shows there to be no significant difference between 3 commercial inoculants and a control treatment with respect to numbers of lactobacilli at the onset of ensilage. Considerable variation in numbers of lactobacilli throughout both the silo and the bulk inoculant were also observed. Numbers of lactobacilli isolated from each of the inoculants were insufficient to produce a population density of 106 organisms per g of grass.