Rehydrated corn grain silage with wet brewery residue and different inoculants

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the effects of including different proportions of Wet Brewery Residue (WBR) using inoculants on rehydrated ground corn silage quality. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design in a 4 x 3 factorial scheme with four replications. Four combinations of WBR and ground corn were evaluated to achieve 45 (DM45), 50 (DM50), 55 (DM55), and 65% (DM65) of dry matter (DM) in the homogenized material before siling, and three types of inoculation: without inoculant, with L. plantarum + P. acidylactici (Homo) and with L. buchneri (L. B). Ensiling was done in experimental PVC silos (±4.0kg) and stored for 180 days. The variables obtained were analyzed by the analysis of variance and regression procedures (P<0.05) using the R software. The percentage of real DM included in the treatments was 47%, 52%, 56%, and 66%. No impairment of the pH-reducing capacity of corn rehydrated with WBR was observed. Total dry matter losses were within the acceptable limit in silage with 52% DM (DM50), regardless of the type of inoculation. Gas losses were within the permissible limit only in the DM50 treatments with Homo inoculant and in the DM50 treatment without inoculation. Effluent losses were outside the tolerable limit in the treatment with 47% DM (DM45) in the presence of the inoculant LB. There was a significant interaction between the inoculant LB and the silages, with 47% (DM45) and 56% (DM55) DM for the Crude Protein (CP) levels. The ADF and NDF variables reduced linearly as a function of the increase in dry matter of the ensiled material, with a tendency for the lowest values to be found in treatments without inoculation. For all variables, an increase in energy levels (Non-Fibrous Carbohydrates, starch, Total Digestible Nutrients, and Net Energy gain) was observed with the increase in the DM content of the silage. It is concluded that silage with 52% DM (DM50) obtained the best results for fermentative losses. For bromatological and energetic characteristics, silage with 66% DM was the best, except for the CP variable, where 47% DM silage achieved superior results. In general, the addition of additives did not show any improvement in relation to treatments without inoculants.