Biological inoculants in the production of silage

The use of additives to improve the conditions of the silage fermentation process began to become very common. There is a wide range to choose substances as additives and currently there are a large number of commercial chemical and biological additives suitable for this preservation process. In tropical areas, the conservation of forage by silage emerges as a viable alternative, since silage is a method of conservation of wet forages based on a spontaneous lactic acid fermentation under anaerobic conditions, the lactic acid bacteria of the material, ferment soluble carbohydrates to lactic acid and to a lesser extent to acetic acid.

The silages are made mainly from vegetable species such as grasses, cereals, legumes among others, the success of the fermentation process that occurs in the silages depends mainly on the sufficient amount of lactic acid bacteria and adequate levels of soluble carbohydrates in the harvested crops, obtaining high lactic acid yields, as a result the pH is kept low and the silages are preserved for long periods while they are in the absence of oxygen.

Currently, as mentioned above, the use of inoculants in silages has become very common, based on this, a large amount of research has been carried out with the application of inoculants to silages in which a high percentage of them have shown favorable responses in decreasing the pH and therefore, an increase in the lactic acid ratio. Once the fermentation process of the silo starts, it is not possible to control this process externally, so the producer's contribution ceases to have relevance and this is where the incorporated bacterial inocula can contribute to the optimization of the fermentation process and shorten the time to be used for feeding cattle.

Bacterial inoculants promote a faster and more efficient fermentation of silage materials, these additives have some advantages over other types of additives, including their low cost, safe handling, low application rate per ton of chopped fodder and do not pollute the environment, among the artisanal microbial additives that can be used is whey and possibly compost worm leachate that can provide a wide variety of microorganisms that possibly intervene positively in the fermentation process.

Microorganisms in silages play a key role in the successful outcome of the conservation process. The microflora can be divided into two groups; the desirable and the undesirable microorganisms. The desirable ones are the natural lactic acid-producing bacteria present in the food to be ensiled and the undesirable ones are those that can cause deterioration within the process. These harmful microorganisms decrease the quality of the silages.

According to Ojeda, Caceres y Esperence (1991), the use of microbial inoculants improves the recovery and aerobic stability of the silages, also increases the digestibility of the dry matter of the silage material. These indicators are closely related to the economic improvements that may exist on farms due to the increase in milk and meat production.

So dear agro readers, it can be said that the use of additives improves the preservation of the silage, by benefiting a predominance of lactic acid bacteria during the fermentation process, this undoubtedly allows reducing the fermentation process and producers can make use of such material in the short term, of course as long as the process of making the silage is fully complied with and at least one of the fundamental aspects is fulfilled, which is the absence of oxygen, therefore, where the plant material is intended to be stored it must be sealed hermetically.