Fourteen commercial silage inoculants were evaluated in 32 trials using nine
different crop species harvested in 1987 and ensiled in PVC laboratory silos.
Microorganism profiles of the crops showed high numbers of lactic acid bacteria (LAB)
in all but one trial. Most inoculants supplied relatively high numbers of LAB per gram
of crop--52 of the 66 inoculant samples supplied more than 10 (100,000) viable LAB
per gram.
The forage crops--wheat, bromegrass, sudangrass, and alfalfa--were highly
responsive to the inoculants. When compared to untreated silages, treated silages had
lower pH, acetic acid, ethanol, and ammonia-nitrogen values and higher lactic acid
content.
In general, late summer- and early autumn- harvested row crops--corn, grain
sorghum, forage sorghum, and high moisture shelled corn--ensiled rapidly, and most
inoculants had limited effect on the rate and efficiency of fermentation.
