The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of hybrid, maturity at harvest [dry matter (DM) content], and length of storage on the composition and nutritive value of corn silage. The plants used in this study included a normal (NORM) and a brown midrib (BMR) hybrid, harvested at 32 or 41% DM and ensiled for various lengths of time (0 to 360 d) without inoculation. Measurements included nutrient analysis, fermentation end products, in vitro digestion of NDF (NDF-D, 30 h), and in vitro digestion of starch (7h). The concentration of acetic acid increased with length of storage for all treatments, specifically increasing as much as 140% between d 45 to 360 for 32% DM BMR silage. Small changes in lactic acid and ethanol were noted but varied by DM and hybrid. When averaged across maturities and length of storage, compared with NORM, BMR silage was lower in concentrations of lignin, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber, but higher in starch. On average, NDF-D of both hybrids was not affected by length of storage between 45 and 270 d. The NDF-D was markedly greater for BMR than NORM after all times of storage. Increasing maturity at harvest generally did not affect the NDF-D of NORM, with the exception that it was slightly lower for the more mature plants at 270 and 360 d. In contrast, the NDF-D of BMR was lower in more mature silage by approximately 5 percentage units from 45 to 360 d. The concentration of starch for 32% DM NORM was lower (21%) than other treatments (31±3%; mean±SD) at harvest. This finding was probably the cause for starch digestibility to be highest in 32% DM NORM samples atd 0 (about 80%) and lower (65 to 68%) for other treatments. Concentrations of soluble N and ammonia-N increased with length of storage, indicating that proteolytic mechanisms were active beyond 2 to 3 mo of storage. The in vitro digestion of starch generally increased with length of storage, probably as a result of proteolysis. Although active fermentation occurs for only a relatively short time in the silo, many metabolic processes remain active during long-term storage. Changes in the nutritive value of corn silage during storage should be accounted for during ration formulations.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding experimental formulations of exogenous protease enzymes on the fermentation and nutritive value of whole-plant corn ensiled in laboratory silos. Chopped and processed whole-plant corn (36.8% DM) was ensiled without enzymes or treated with 1 of 2 experimental proteases (E85 or E86; AB Vista, Wiltshire, UK) at 20 or 2,000 mg/kg (wet-weight basis). Forages were packed in vacuumed and heat-sealed bags and ensiled for 45 and 150 d at 23±1°C. When compared with untreated silage, addition of proteases and length of ensiling time had no effect on silage pH or concentration of crude protein. The results were similar for the concentrations of acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and starch, although protease × time interactions were observed for these components, which were biologically minor. When compared with untreated silages, only treatment with the 2,000-mg/kg application amount of E 0425 resulted in lower neutral detergent fiber after 45 d of ensiling. Proteases did not affect NDF digestibility after 150 d of ensiling when compared with untreated silage. Similarly, treatment with enzymes did not affect the concentrations of lactic and acetic acids or ethanol when compared with untreated silage. Concentrations of NH(3)-N and soluble protein (% of crude protein) increased with storage time compared with concentrations at harvest and were greater for the 2,000-mg/kg doses of proteases when compared with untreated silage at both 45 and 150 d. In vitro ruminal digestibility of starch after 7 h of incubation was 66.3% for freshly chopped corn plants. After 45 d of ensiling, starch digestion was greater for E 0430 applied at the 2,000-mg/kg dose (80.6%) than in all other treatments, with the exception that it was similar to the 2,000-mg/kg dose of E85. After 150 d of ensiling, the 20-mg/kg dose of E 0425 (81.9%), the 2,000-mg/kg dose of E 0425 (82.9%), and the 2,000-mg/kg dose of E 0430 (88.6%) had greater starch digestibility than untreated silage (74.0%). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that addition of exogenous proteases added to corn forage at the time of harvest can increase in vitro ruminal starch digestibility during silage fermentation. Data suggests that adding exogenous sources of protease enzymes at ensiling may be a method to obtain a high degree of ruminal starch digestibility in corn silage that would normally require longer periods of time to obtain from prolonged storage.

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of treating whole-plant corn at harvest with various doses of an exogenous acidic protease on fermentation and changes in nutritive value after a short period (45 d) of ensiling. Whole-plant corn (37% dry matter) was chopped and treated with 0, 20, 200, 1,000, or 2,000 mg of protease/kg of wet forage. Forages (~500 g) were packed in bag silos and ensiled at 22 to 23°C for 45 d. Data were analyzed as a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with the main effects of the dose of protease, day of ensiling, and their interaction. Treatment with protease did not alter the concentrations of dry matter, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, starch, lactic acid, or acetic acid compared with untreated silage, with the exception that the concentration of starch was lower in silage treated with 20 mg of protease/kg compared with untreated silage. However, the 2 highest doses of protease resulted in silages with higher concentrations of ethanol and more yeasts compared with untreated silage. Protease treatment did not affect the ruminal in vitro digestibility of neutral detergent fiber. Concentrations of soluble protein (percentage of crude protein) increased after ensiling for all treatments but was not different between silage treated with the lowest dose of protease and untreated silage. Soluble protein increased in a dose-dependent manner above the low dose of protease in silages. Concentrations of NH 3-N were higher only in silages treated with the 2 highest doses of protease compared with untreated silage. Silages treated with the 3 highest doses of protease were higher in ruminal in vitro digestibility of starch compared with untreated silage but were similar to each other. The concentrations of total AA were determined in fresh forage and silages for the untreated and 200 and 2,000 mg/kg doses of protease. Neither amount of added protease affected the total concentrations of essential, nonessential, or total AA in silage. However, of the essential AA, treatment with protease resulted in silages with lower concentrations of lysine and arginine but higher concentrations of leucine compared with untreated silage. The 200 mg/kg dose of protease substantially improved ruminal in vitro starch digestion in corn silage after a short period of ensiling without affecting concentrations or numbers of ethanol and yeasts, respectively.