Spoiled silage at the top and shoulders of a horizontal silo is common because of their lower density and higher aeration. Thus, avoiding or reducing aerobic deterioration in the peripheral areas of the silages becomes a key factor for commercial farms. There are two factors that affect the top spoilage: the quality of the plastic film and how well it is held to the forage. The quality of the plastic film is related to oxygen permeability, thickness, and ultraviolet blocking. To hold the sheet to the crop, sidewall plastic associated to gravel bags and used tires have been good alternatives to be used as weights to secure the sheet on the top surface, but many other means can be applied like sidewall disks. Preventing silage losses due to an inappropriate sealing is important, both from nutritional and economic contexts. Proper air sealing produces wellfermented silage and mitigates losses in the upper layer of the silo.Keywords: plastic cover, aerobic deterioration, dry matter losses, oxygen barrier film, silage storage
IntroductionLimiting losses in the upper silage layer is crucial for ensiling process. When no seal is applied, or when the seal is inadequate, air and moisture enter into the silo, affecting the quality of silage; therefore, silage is covered for two primary reasons. The first is to exclude rainfall because precipitation washes organic acids and other soluble feed components from the forage, and the second is to reduce exposure to air.Oxygen enables various aerobic spoilage microorganisms to become active and to multiply themselves, resulting in aerobic deterioration [1] and substantial economic losses. The deterioration of the silage is indicated by temperature and pH increase, dry matter (DM) and nutrient losses, surface mold growth, and feed refusal by the animals.© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Livestock farms can store silage in various ways such as horizontal silos (bunker and stacks), tower silos, bagged silos, or wrapped bales. Several farms prefer horizontal silos due to relatively low construction costs, greater safety compared to tower silos and high work rates for filling and unloading [2]. Nevertheless, their design allows large areas of the ensiled material to be exposed to the environment and prone to spoilage, especially in the upper layer and near the walls [3].In horizontal silos, during the storage period, a spoiled layer is formed below the sealing sheet, known as "surface waste." Although there is also some evidence ...