the effect of propionic and acetic acid on the nutritive value of alfalfa (30% moisture) during storage

this study was conducted to study the effect of organic acids on the preservation of alfalfa nutritional value after harvesting. a split plot design with 4 treatments and 3 times was conducted in which organic acids were sprayed on the 30percent moisture content forage before baling. treatments were: 1) forage without additives as control, 2) pure propionic acid, 1percent, 3) acetic acid percent 3 percent, 4) a mixture of propionic (0.8) and acetic (0.6). the forage was sampled at 1, 45 and 90 days of baling for chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and fungal contamination. results indicated that cp ranged 13.37-14.13 percent at first day of baling that were not significantly varied among the treatments. the treatments 1, 2 and 3 were contaminated with fungi when they were tested at 45 days of baling; therefore they were not sampled thereafter for more studies. there were no significant differences between the remainder treatments or between the times for cp and cf content when they were sampled at 45 or 90 days after baling. the in vitro digestibility's of dry matter and organic matter were between 62.49 to 67.23 and 56.59 to 65.37 percent that were not significantly different among the times (1 and 45 days). in addition, no significantly differences were observed for digestibility of organic matter in dry matter.  in conclusion, propionic or acetic acid could not preserve the forage contained 30percent moisture when they were used alone but the mixture of two acids kept the forage from contamination.