| Microbial populations, pH, ammonium nitrogen/total nitrogen (N-NH3) ratio, concentrations of lactic acid, acetic acid and butyric acid and the chemical composition of Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basiliski silages at different regrowth ages (30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 days) were evaluated by using 2-kg capacity laboratory silos. It was used a 5 × 6 factorial scheme (5 regrowth ages × 6 fermentation periods) in a complete random design, with three replicates. The fermentation periods were 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days. Lactic acid bacteria populations were recorded in fresh forage varying from 3.93 (30 days of regrowth) to 5.51 (70 days of regrowth) log colony-forming units (cfu)/g forage. Maximum populations of these microorganisms were recorded in the silages on the... |
