Effect of Yeast and Bacterial Mixed Culture Inoculation on the Fermentation of Maize Silage

Prior to ensiling, chopped maize fodder was subjected to different inoculum treatments namely (T₁) control, without inoculum; (T₂) S. faecalis: (T₃) T. Candida; (T₄) L. plantarum; (T₅) 5. faecalis+ T. Candida; (T₆) T. candida+L. plantarum; (T₇) S. faecalis+ T. Candida; (T₈) S. faecalis + L. Plantarum + T. Candida. The silage was prepared in 500 ml capacity laboratory silos, equipped with Bunsen valves and incubated at 25°C for 2, S, 9, 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days to study the effect of treatment and period of ensiling on certain silage quality parameters. Inoculation with S. faecalis+S. plantarum prior to ensiling for 60 days reduced the pH of the silage upto 3.84, without causing any significant decrease in dry matter, cell contents and cell wall constituents, suggesting improvement in silage quality.