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Corn silage management: effects of maturity, inoculation, and mechanical processing on pack density and aerobic
L M Johnson1, J H Harrison, D Davidson
1Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University, Puyallup 98371, USA.
Abstract:
Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of inoculation, maturity, and mechanical processing of corn silage on aerobic stability and pack density. Corn silage was stored in 20-L mini silos for the three aerobic stability experiments. Corn silage was stored in 80-L mini silos for the three pack-density experiments. The wet pack density of corn silage tended to decrease as maturity advanced in all of the pack-density experiments, and processed corn silage had a greater wet pack density compared with unprocessed corn silage in two of the three 20-L mini silo experiments. Aerobic stability, measured as the number of hours to reach 1.7 degrees C above ambient, was greater for processed corn silage in two of the three 20-L mini silo experiments, and was greater for inoculated corn silage across the three 20-L mini silo experiments. Inoculation of corn silage with lactic acid producing bacteria tended to improve aerobic stability of corn silage more than maturity and mechanical processing.