Efficiency of using specialized bacterial starter culture in haylage making

Abstract

The science-based economic experiment was conducted on the farm of the PZ “Komsomolskoe”, the Pavlovskiy District of the Altai Region. Haylage was made from perennial grasses (65% of brome grass and 35% of sainfoin) with the application of the specialized bacterial starter culture SZPSS. According to the experimental design, fresh haylage of perennial grasses was piled for making on this farm in June 2024 using the SZPSS starter culture. Before piling, samples of green mass of succulent forage were taken. The green mass was placed in 3-liter glass jars. Haylage samples were taken for testing on the 5th, 15th and 30th days after piling the green mass. The use of the SZPSS bacterial starter culture for making haylage of green mass enabled obtaining high-quality haylage which complied with the GOST R (Russian Standard) 55452-2021 “Hay and haylage. General specifications” for organoleptic evaluation (color, smell, consistency) and chemical composition. When the studied bacterial starter was added to the haylage being made, the content of digestible protein on the 30th day of haylage making increased by 6.5%. The application of the bacterial starter SZPSS had a noticeable positive effect on sugar and carotene concentrations. Carbohydrates are a good substrate for the development of lactic acid and propionic acid bacteria. By the 30th day of haylage piling, the sugar content in the experimental variant reached 18 g, and in the control variant - 17 g. Carotene content in the experiment was by 14% more than that in the control variant; starch content increased by 41-67%, and calcium content level was more by 4% as compared to the control values.