Kuşkonmaz (Asparagus officinalis L.) bitkisi, Asparagaceae familyasına giren ve içerisinde yaklaşık 300 tür barındıran Asparagus cinsine ait bir tür olup, kültürü yapılan ve ekonomik değeri yüksek olan bir sebzedir. Kuşkonmaz bitkisinin hayvan yemi olarak kullanımı ile ilgili çalışmalar oldukça kısıtlıdır. Kuşkonmaz bitkisi ilkbaharda taze sebze olarak hasadı yapıldıktan sonra gelişmeye bırakılır ve bitkilerin kış dinlenmesine girmesinden önce gelişen vejetatif aksamı hasat edilir. Bu çalışmada, söz konusu vejetatif aksamın silaj yapımı olanakları araştırılmıştır. Çalışmada, kuşkonmaz bitkisinin gelişme dönemi sonunda biçilen sürgünleri kullanılıp, bu sürgünler teorik olarak 2-3 cm ebadında parçalanmış daha önceden bir TUBİTAK projesi sonucu elde edilen 5 adet laktik asit bakterisi (LAB) ile aşılanarak silolanmıştır. Araştırmadan elde edilen sonuçlara göre; 879.92 kg da-1 yeşil ot verimi ve 324.60 kg da-1 kuru ot verimi ile alternatif bir kaba yem kaynağı olabileceği, potansiyel beslenme değerinin ruminant hayvanlar için uygun olduğu belirlenmiştir. LAB aşılamasının kontrole kıyasla kuru madde korunumu arttığı, pH seviyesinin düşürdüğü, laktik asit üretimini arttığı, propiyonik asit ve asetik asit miktarını düşürdüğü belirlenmiştir. Özellikle silaj kalitesini iyileştirmede, LS-65-2-1 kod numaralı L. bifermentas izolatının ön plana çıktığı belirlenmiştir.

Alfalfa is the most planted perennial legume in the world due to its high nutritive value, protein content, productivity, and digestibility in addition to high vitamin and mineral content. It is also one of the hardest plants to ensile owing to its low reducible sugar and dry matter (DM) contents and high buffering capacity. In this study, the effects of inoculation with Lactobacillus bifermentans which is homofermentative and Lactobacillus brevis which is heterofermentative on the silage fermentation of different DM containing alfalfa forage. Alfalfa forages were unwilted, or wilted for 9 or 24 hours in order to achieve low (L), moderate (M) and high (H) DM contents. As a result of the research, it was determined that wilting improved the fermentation properties, decreased the pH value, and increased dry matter recovery. Microbial inoculation decreased the pH value, increased the dry matter recovery, and decreased the number of undesirable enterobacteria in silage. As a result of the research, it was determined that the wilting and inoculation should be applied for successful fermentation of alfalfa silage. It was also determined that inoculation with L. bifermentans gave the highest crude protein (CP) content while L. brevis gave the highest dry matter recovery (DMR).

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a crucial perennial forage plant with its high protein and mineral content and may be mowed several times through the vegetation period. Along with having a large cultivation area in Türkiye, it constitutes approximately 61% of the total green forage produced. Silage is the best method for keeping grass well and using it as a source of roughage in all seasons. However, ensiling alfalfa, especially with low dry matter content, is very difficult due to its low water-soluble carbohydrate and buffering capacity. This study was carried out to improve the alfalfa plant's silage fermentation process by inoculating new lactic acid bacteria strains. When the alfalfa plant reached 50% flowering, six different lactic acid bacteria strains were inoculated and compared with the uninoculated alfalfa silage. According to the results obtained, it was determined that lactic acid bacteria inoculants improved the fermentation properties of alfalfa silage in general. All inoculated strains caused a significant decrease in pH of the resulting silage. The strain Lactobacillus buchneri (LS-31-1-4) was superior in terms of much dry matter recovery (96.82%) and protein recovery (94.00%). At the same time, Lactobacillus brevis (LS-55-2-2) and Leuconostoc citerum (LS-70-6-1) were the most restrictive strains to yeast and enterobacteria growth in silage, respectively.

Usage of high quality forage that enhances the production efficiency in the livestock industry is a quite important issue. During a famine period or when it is unavailable to reach fresh forage due to seasonal factors, the ensiled forage becomes a vital role for feeding ruminants. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) is the most important microorganisms in silage for desired fermentation. In this work, LAB isolation in epiphytic flora from diverse field forage crops and ecologies in Turkey were made in order to determine their fermentative capacity and to develop a high-quality silage inoculant. For this purpose, the forage crops were collected from several rangelands from different altitudes of 39 to 1516 m and isolations were made from both fresh forage and ensiled material. Total acid production capacities of isolates were determined and 70 isolates were selected in terms of acid zone creation in growth media containing CaCO 3. Then, LA production levels in MRS broth media of isolates were determined and final 10 isolates were selected for inoculation trials. Also, morphological, physiologic, biochemical properties of selected 10 isolates were analyzed and identified by the BIOLOG kit on species level. Isolates that have outstanding properties about lactic acid productivity are left to use further inoculation research work.

Maize is the most cultivated plant for silage making in all over the World due to its many advantages such as producing high yield, suitable for mechanization and easy to ensile. However, the most important shortcoming property of maize silage is insufficiency of protein content. This study was planned for resolving this problem to a certain extent by growing maize with legume in the field as intercrop without any decrease in maize stand. Silage pH was significantly decreased in all intercropping patterns, regardless to legume, compared to sole maize, however, all pH values were enough low indicating a sufficient fermentation has occurred in the silo. Intercropping maize with soybean increased dry matter recovery (DMR), dry matter intake (DMI) and relative feed value (RFV) compared to sole crop maize. The NDF values of intercropped maize were better than that of pure maize resulting increases in DMI. Intercropping maize with any legumes caused an increase in crude protein (CP) content.