an investigation on the effect of some additives on aerobic stability, chemical composition and microbes of corn silage

this experiment was conducted to determine the effects of propionic acid, formic acid, molasses and molasses plus urea on chemical composition, microbial population, ruminal degradability of dry matter (dm) and crude protein (cp), and aerobic stability of corn silage. prior to ensiling, whole crop corn was chapped and treated with water (control), propionic acid (1%), formic acid (0.8%), molasses (5%) and molasses plus urea (13%). the ensiling process was performed in 10 litter buckets. silos were opened after 60 days. dm content was the highest in silages treated with propionic acid and formic acid. formic acid treated silages had greater contents of crude fat (cf) and total volatile fatty acid (tvfa) compare to other treatments.the cp content of corn silage was increased by combination of molasses and urea. all additives decreased neutral detergent fiber (ndf) and acid detergent fiber (adf). total count of microorganism in control group was higher than formic acid and propionic treatments. lactic acid bacteria (lab) count in silages treated with molasses and molasses plus urea was higher than other treatments. yeast pollution was not observed in any of the treatments. by using propionic acid, and molasses plus urea, the yeast count in the control group showed a drastic decrease, up to zero. molasses and molasses plus urea increased potential degradability of cp. effective ruminal degradability (erd) of dm at ruminal out flaw rate of 0.05h-1 in formic acid, propionic acid and molasses treatments was higher compare to control and molasses plus urea. erd of cp in ruminal out flaw rate of 0.05h-1 in silages treated with molasses and molasses plus urea was higher than other treatments. aerobic stability in silages treated with propionic acid and formic acid was higher than other treatments. in conclusion, quality of corn silage improved by additives.