THE EFFECT OF COMMERCIAL INOCULANTS ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND FERMENTATION OF ALFALFA SILAGE

Forage legumes are difficult to ensile, so it is necessary to apply a starter culture of the selected strains of lactic acid bacteria that support the ensiling process, prevent a bacterial butyric fermentation, and thus contribute to the preservation and improvement of silage quality. The aim of this study was to estimate the effects of commercial inoculants on the chemical composition and fermentation of alfalfa silage cultivar OS99. The alfalfa mass was subdivided into six equal portions (control - silage without inoculant) and silages treated with commercial inoculants (PIO1 - Pioneer 11H50, PIO2 - Pioneer 11AFT, SIL - Silko, BON - Bonsilage alfa and SAL - Sil-All4 x 4), all ensiled in microsilos. Subsequent to 90 days of ensiling, the silages were analyzed with regard to the chemical composition and fermentation characteristics. The dry matter and crude protein values were higher, whereas the lactic and acetic acid values were significantly (p<0.05) higher in the silage treated with the inoculants PIO1, PIO2, SIL, BON, and SAL when compared to the control silage. On the contrary, the alfalfa silage treated with the inoculants PIO1, PIO2, SIL, BON, and SAL had the lower values of acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and the pH and significantly (p<0.05) lower values of butyric acid, alcohols, and NH3 -N when compared to the control silage. The results demonstrated that the commercial inoculants PIO1, PIO2, SIL, BON, and SAL increase the quality silage of alfalfa cultivar OS99 when compared to the control silage.