Scholarly record

PRE-TREATMENT OF GREEN AMARANTH MASS AS THE MAIN STAGE IN PRODUCING HIGH-QUALITY FODDER

S. V. Pavlenkova

Abstract

The main succulent fodder for cattle in the winter-stall period is silage. For ensiling, amaranth was used - a promising high protein fodder crop, capable of satisfying the animals needs in nutrients. The main factor determining the timing of amaranth harvesting is the sum of the active temperatures (climatic conditions), which, when cultivated on silage, must be at least 1000В°C. Ensiling was performed at different stages of vegetation: in the phase of the beginning of flowering, milk and milk-wax ripeness of seeds with the humidity of plants by 84.7, 80.0 and 79.0%, respectively. The green mass was ground, while varying the grinding degree (from 1 to 12 cm), depending on its moisture content at the time of laying. During this technological operation, sugars are quickly released from the plant cells a long with sap, and when raw material with a moisture of over 80% is cut small, representatives of the plant's own microbiota, including unwanted ones, actively propagate, while nutrients are lost. The crushed mass laid into the polymeric hoses was carefully compacted, changing the degree of compaction according to its humidity, since excessive compaction of a highly moist green mass promotes abundant release of sap and the loss of valuable substances. The mass was layer-by-layer processed with an experimentally developed ferment from lactic acid bacteria (108 CFU/ml) at the rate of 64 ml per 1 kg. To reduce loss of nutrients during storage as well as to stabilize the pH composition and the ratio of natural preservatives (organic acids) formed during fermentation, the mass before laying was treated with a complex enzyme preparation xylomycrosporinGx in the amount of 0.3-0.4% to the fodder weight which possesses cellulolytic, ?-glucanase, galactomannanase, amylase and xylanase activities. Evaluation of the silage obtained 3 months after its laying showed that the silage was higher than the control sample obtained without pretreatment concerning dry matter content, the "raw protein", the microbiota composition, the active acidity, the content of lactic, acetic and oleic acids. Consequently, the pre-treatment of the ensiled mass with a complex enzyme preparation contributes to the intensification of the lactic fermentation process necessary for obtaining a high-quality silage.

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