The Effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria and Enzyme Mixture Inoculants on Fermentation and Nutrient Digestibility of Sunflower Silage

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the effects of lactic acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria+enzyme mixture inoculants as silage additives, on the fermentation and nutrient digestibility in lambs fed sunflower silage. Pioneer 1174 (Iowa, USA), and Sil-All (Alltech, UK) were used as lactic acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria+enzyme mixture inoculants, respectively. Inoculants were applied at 6.00 log10 cfu/g silage levels. Sunflower was harvested at the dough stage and ensiled in 120 litre capacity plastic containers. Three plastic container from each group were sampled for chemical and microbiological analyses on day 60 after ensiling. In addition, in vivo nutrition digestibility of silages were determined. Both inoculants increased fermentation qualities of sunflower. Lactic acid bacteria+enzyme decreased (P < 0.002) neutral detergent fiber content and increased in vivo organic matter and acid detergent fiber digestibility of silages (P < 0.05).