Inoculants are silage additives containing lactic acid bacteria (e.g. Lactobacillus plantarum, other lactobacilli, pediococci or Enterococcus faecium) that help to improve fermentation (production of lactic acid) in the silo. Inoculants bacteria are usually selected from epiphytic microflora or other environments. Bacterial spectrum includes homofermentative species producing exclusively lactic acid and heterofermentative species producing mixture of lactic and acetic acids and/or other by-products like ethanol and carbon dioxide. Mode of action of inoculants include: 1) rapid production of lactic acid, 2) improvement of the aerobic stability of silage due to production of acetic acid, 3) detoxification of mycotoxines and inhibition of pathogenic and/or spoiling bacteria, 4) probiotic action. In this study four commercially available inoculants were tested. Total viable counts in inoculants varied from 10 to 11 log CFU/g. Two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum and one strain of Pediococcus sp. a Enterococcus sp. isolated from inoculants were used for the 43 experimental production of alfalfa silage. Treated silage samples had lower pH (4.2 vs. 4.5 in control samples) and contained more lactic acid compared to control silage.

CZ; cs; klara.bauerova@mze.cz