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Enzymes as silage additives for grass–clover mixtures
Author(s) -
SELMEROLSEN I.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2494.1994.tb02005.x
Subject(s) - silage , fermentation , microbial inoculant , cellulase , lactic acid , rumen , acetic acid , food science , forage , chemistry , agronomy , aspergillus oryzae , trichoderma reesei , enzyme , pectinase , biology , zoology , inoculation , horticulture , bacteria , biochemistry , genetics
Seven laboratory‐scale experiments were carried out to study the effects of cellulases/hemicellulases on silage fermentation of herbage from mixed swards of timothy ( Phleum pratense ), meadow fescue ( Festuca pratensis ) and red clover ( Trifolium pretense ). Enzyme‐treated silage (approximately 3500 HEC units kg −1 grass) reached a low pH sooner, had lower end pH, contained less NH 3 ‐N and more lactic acid than did the untreated silage ( P < 0·05). Applied with an inoculant, these effects were even stronger. With easily ensiled crops (experiments 1, 2, 5 and 6) preservation was first of all improved by inoculation of lactic acid bacteria; however, for the low‐sugar crops (experiments 3, 4 and 7) enzyme treatment was more significant. The enzymes derived from Aspergillus spp. gave more acetic acid than the enzymes from Trichoderma reesei. The Trichoderma enzymes liberated 4·8 g WSC kg −1 FM gamma‐irradiated grass during 60 d at pH 4·3 ( P < 0·05). On average, for all silages enzyme treatment increased the sum of residual sugar and fermentation products by 3·7 g kg −1 FM (21 g kg −1 DM) compared with the silages not treated with enzymes ( P < 0·001). Enzyme treatment increased the instantly degradable part of the feed, but total in sacco and in vitro digestibilities were not affected.