Premium
Ensilage of whole‐crop barley. II. —Composition of barley and barley silage at different stages of growth
Author(s) -
Macgregor A. W.,
Edwards R. A.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2740191111
Subject(s) - silage , dry matter , sucrose , fructose , chemistry , malic acid , agronomy , composition (language) , food science , biology , citric acid , linguistics , philosophy
Samples of whole barley cv. Zephyr were cut at 7 stages of growth and after being chopped were ensiled in small laboratory silos. Changes in individual carbohydrates and organic acids during ensilage were studied. The water‐soluble carbohydrates, which rose to a maximum (32.6% of the dry matter) at the milky kernels stage of growth, consisted mainly of fructosans with smaller amounts of fructose, glucose and sucrose. The main organic acid of the plant, malic acid, disappeared during ensilage. The practical significance of the changes is discussed.