Medycyna Wet. 62 (8), 865-869, 2006
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| Purwin C., Łaniewska-Trokenheim Ł., Warmińska-Radyko I., Tywończuk J. |
| Silage quality: microbiological, health-promoting and production aspects |
| The quality of raw milk and dairy products is related primarily to the quality of silage fed to cows. The kind of raw material and environmental conditions determine the composition of epiphytic microflora on the surface of the vegetative parts of green plants, thus affecting the final microbiological quality of silage. One of the key factors in deteriorating silage quality is a low dry matter content of the raw material, which may lead to the growth and development of anaerobic rods of the genus Clostridium sp. causing butyric acid fermentation. The products of this fermentation contribute to reduced silage intake. Another quality-related problem is low aerobic stability for silage, which causes an increase in the Listeria monocytogenes count (raw material contamination with these microorganisms may cause the occurrence of listeriosis in animals). A high dry matter concentration (>50%) in the raw material makes silage more susceptible to self-heating and infestations with toxin-producing fungi. The progress observed in silage production technologies primarily concerns maize silage and maize grain silage, whose quality depends upon the growth stage. Delayed harvest aimed at achieving a high dry matter yield results in the mass proliferation of yeasts and mould. Consequently, maize silage has the highest dynamics of changes in microbiological quality. |
| Keywords: microbiological quality, silage, Clostridium |