Studies on the aerobic deterioration of whole-crop cereal silages

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Abstract
SUMMARY: As a result of the treatment of made whole-crop barley silage with antimicrobial agents which are specifically inhibitory to fungi or bacteria, it was shown that the subsequent aerobic deterioration was essentially caused by yeasts. These microorganisms were instrumental in the rise in pH, the increase in temperature and the loss of dry matter observed. The filamentous fungi, like one group of bacteria (the streptomycetes), apparently had no part in the process. Bacteria, such as the lactobacilli and particularly proteolytic bacteria, may have had a role in the terminal stages of deterioration, although it was considered more likely that the yeasts again were involved.The whole-crop wheat silage employed in this work was stable in air, a factor attributed to the combined antimicrobial effects of butyric acid present and the relatively high dry-matter content.