Microbial Inoculation or Cellulase Enzyme Treatment of Barley and Vetch Silage Harvested at Three Maturities

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Abstract
A mixture,of barley and hairy vetch was,harvested,at the following,three maturities for barley and vetch, respec- tively: early boot-prebloom (early), early heading-midbloom (middle), and soft dough-seeding (late). At each maturity, measurements,were made,of forage yield and nutrient composition. Forage was cut and wilted prior to ensicontrol silage; 2) microbial ino- culant (added to 1 x l@ cfu/g of wet forage); or 3) cellulase enzyme,complex (.5% of wet weight). Yield of total forage DM increased from 5741 to 19,379 koa from early to late harvest, respectively. Forage decreased,in N and water-soluble carbohydrate content with increasing ma- turity but ADF, NDF, and ADL content increased with maturity. Differences in forage composition,were greater between early and middle maturities than between middle and late maturities. Microbial in- oculation reduced silage pH, acetate, and NH3 N but increased lactic acid concen- tration,when,averaged,across,all maturities. Addition of cellulase enzyme