DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-093-1-0148
THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT DRY MATTER CONTENT ON THE FERMENTATION PROCESS AND AEROBIC STABILITY OF ALFALFA SILAGE
- Doležal, P.1, Hendrychová, K.1, Jambor, V.2, Juráček M.3, Šimko, M.3, Havlíček Z.1, Dvořáček, J.4, Pazdera, J.5
- 1 Mendel university in Brno, Zemědělská 1665/1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- 2 Nutrivet Ltd., Vídeňská 1023, 691 23 Pohořelice, Czech Republic
- 3 Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Trieda A. Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovak Republic
- 4 Association of Professional Services, Ltd., 67901 Skalice nad Svitavou, Czech Republic
- 5 KWS Seeds, Ltd., Pod Hradbami 2004/5, 594 01 Velké Meziříčí, Czech Republic
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different dry matter contents of ensiled alfalfa on fermentation quality and the resulting aerobic stability. Alfalfa was ensiled in PE bags and treated with an additive containing a lactic acid bacteria inoculant and an aromatic salt. The quality of the fermentation process was assessed by determining the fermentation products and nutritive value according to Commission Regulation (EU) 771/2024. Aerobic stability was assessed by continuous temperature measurement in a measuring device. The critical temperature for the onset of aerobic instability was defined as the point at which the silage temperature increased by more than 3 °C. It was found that increasing dry matter content, the production of all fermentable acids, including lactic acid, decreased, and protein degradation (%degree of proteolysis) decreased. The aerobic stability of the tested operational alfalfa silages lasted 125-135 hours from air exposure. It has been confirmed that high-quality primary fermentation (Quality class II) is only one of the factors influencing the resulting aerobic stability, which adds to the complexity of this issue.
Keywords: alfalfa silage, dry matter content, fermentation quality, aerobic stability
pages: 148-149, Published: 2026, online: 2026
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