Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology

The effects of five lactic acid bacteria (LAB) treatments on the conservation characteristics of triticale-Hungarian vetch silages were investigated in a 3 (stage of ensiling) x 6 (additive treatments) factorial design. Triticale-Hungarian vetch herbage wilted to 35% DM was chopped and treated with three homo-fermentative LAB (two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum; L. plantarum + Enterecoccus faecium and multi-strain of homo-fermentative LAB + enzyme mixture), hetero-fermentative LAB (two strains of Lactobacillus buchneri) or hetero-fermentative + homo-fermentative LAB (L. buchneri, L. plantarum, E. faecium). Silages made without additive served as control. The application of homo-fermentative LAB resulted in increased (P<0.001) water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), but decreased (P<0.001) silage pH and ammonia-N within the 4 weeks of fermentation. Application of homo-fermentative LAB with enzyme also increased (P<0.001) concentration of lactic acid resulting in higher (P<0.001) DM recovery. L. buchneri with or without homo-fermentative LAB improved the standard of preservation which had higher (P<0.001) silage pH, concentration of acetic and propionic acid, but lower concentration of lactic acid and WSC (P<0.001). The combination of L. buchneri and homo-fermentative LAB reduced (P<0.001) ammonia-N as compared to the control. Aerobic stability was the longest (P<0.001) in silages treated with L. buchneri, but it was the shortest (P<0.001) in silages treated with homo-fermentative LAB. It is concluded that even if ensiling conditions are optimal for silage fermentation, both homo-fermentative and hetero-fermentative LAB and their combination can improve the quality of silage. Further, using homo-fermentative LAB in combination with L. buchneri rather than using L. buchneri alone is more preferable.