The effect of different water contents and additive mixtures on Medicago sativa silage
Medicago sativa in the initial flowering stage was harvested and wilted for 0, 6, 18, or 28 h and was ensiled with different water contents (80. 3%, 71. 2% , 62. 5% and 40. 3% respectively) and additive mixtures. Results from the orthogonal experiments showed that fresh cut M. sativa (water content 80. 3%) without additives made poor silage. Wilting for 6 h with the addition of 0. 1 g/kg cellulose enzyme and 15 g/kg glucose, wilting for 18 h with the addition of 0. 025 g/kg cellulose enzyme and 20 g/kg glucose and wilting for 28 h with the addition of 107cfu/g lactic acid bacteria and 20 g/kg glucose gave the best results. As the contents of additive components increased, M. sativa silage had lower pH values and ammonium nitrogen contents but higher lactic acid contents.