Dual sensor measurement shows that temperature outperforms pH as an early sign of aerobic deterioration in maize silage
High quality silage containing abundant lactic acid is a critical component of ruminant diets in many parts of the world. Silage deterioration, a result of aerobic metabolism (including utilization of lactic acid) during storage and feed-out, reduces the nutritional quality of the silage, and its ac...
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Published in | Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 8686 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
Nature Publishing Group
22.04.2021
Nature Publishing Group UK Nature Portfolio |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | High quality silage containing abundant lactic acid is a critical component of ruminant diets in many parts of the world. Silage deterioration, a result of aerobic metabolism (including utilization of lactic acid) during storage and feed-out, reduces the nutritional quality of the silage, and its acceptance by animals. In this study, we introduce a novel non-disruptive dual-sensor method that provides near real-time information on silage aerobic stability, and demonstrates for the first time that in situ silage temperature (T
) and pH are both associated with preservation of lactic acid. Aerobic deterioration was evaluated using two sources of maize silage, one treated with a biological additive, at incubation temperatures of 23 and 33 °C. Results showed a time delay between the rise of T
and that of pH following aerobic exposure at both incubation temperatures. A 11 to 25% loss of lactic acid occurred when T
reached 2 °C above ambient. In contrast, by the time the silage pH had exceeded its initial value by 0.5 units, over 60% of the lactic acid had been metabolized. Although pH is often used as a primary indicator of aerobic deterioration of maize silage, it is clear that T
was a more sensitive early indicator. However, the extent of the pH increase was an effective indicator of advanced spoilage and loss of lactic acid due to aerobic metabolism for maize silage. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2045-2322 2045-2322 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-021-88082-1 |