A method of making good quality silage from direct cut alfalfa by spraying previously fermented juice

Three laboratory-scale experiments were carried out using direct cut alfalfa and 900-ml glass bottle silos. In Experiment 1, effects of different temperatures (20, 30 and 40°C) and additives (previously fermented juice, PFJ, and Lactobacillus casei, LAB) on silage quality were studied. Experiment 2 involved the same treatments as Experiment 1 with the exception that material was only preserved at 30°C. In Experiment 3, effect of addition of PFJ made from diluted alfalfa juice on silage quality was studied. In each experiment, part of the alfalfa was ensiled without any additive (None). All the treatments consisted of three replicate silos and they were preserved for 45 days. J was prepared by macerating 200 g of freshly harvested alfalfa with 600 ml of water, filtering through double cheese cloth, adding 40 g l−1 glucose and incubating anaerobically at 30°C for 2 days. In Experiment 3, 2- and 20-fold dilutions of alfalfa juice with 20 g l−1 glucose solution before fermentation were made. They were added at 2.5 ml kg−1 of chopped alfalfa. of a solution containing 108L. casei inoculated 1 kg of chopped alfalfa. quality was affected by both temperature and additive treatments. Without an additive, well-fermented silage was obtained only at 40°C. Inoculation with L. casei, a conventional additive, of alfalfa at ensiling was sometimes effective but sometimes not, while addition of PFJ, a novel additive, at 2.5 ml kg−1 fresh alfalfa improved silage quality independently of harvest seasons, growing stages and storage temperatures. Twenty-fold dilution of alfalfa juice with glucose solution before fermentation was possible without decreasing its potential as the silage additive.