PA--Precision Agriculture A System for Testing Plastic Film for Bunker Silage Preservation--Design and Preliminary Findings

The connection between the quality of silo sheets and the ensiling process was investigated. For this purpose a test apparatus, which simulates and standardizes the radiation processes at the silo, was developed according to the principle of an `artificial skyʹ. Subsequently, an experiment was carried out with 130 kg portions of wilted grass, each compacted in plastic containers and covered with one of ten different film types, defined by its thickness, colour and structure. The investigation shows that the temperature course in the silage is on similar principle between different film types. Differences between the investigated film types were mainly discovered directly under the film (average temperature, temperature fluctuations, colour of the silage surface). Quantitatively, these differences do not seem to be very important, especially when taking the high standard deviations and the small effects caused in the middle of the containers into consideration. Further experiments are necessary. A test apparatus, such as the `artificial skyʹ, offers a valuable supplement to standard testing methods in silage research.