Conservation of fresh and wilted grass in air‐tight metal containers

Abstract

Abstract Fresh and wilted timothy‐meadow fescue herbage of 19 and 46.6° dry matter content, respectively, was ensiled in rubber‐sealed steel cylinders 5 ft deep and 3 ft in diameter. Mean dry matter losses from all silos were about 6%. All silages were well preserved, the wilted material containing less lactic acid and volatile acids and having a higher pH. The dry matter digestibility coefficients from fresh and wilted grass silages were 71.5 and 70.2%, respectively, and were slightly higher than for the grass before ensilage. Ensilage resulted in a fall in metabolisable energy of the wilted grass. Intake of wilted silage by sheep was higher than that of silage from fresh grass.