Objective

: To evaluate two managements of incorporation of green manure from four legumes and the use of microbial inoculants on the quality of Zea mays L silage in the Colombian dry tropic.

Materials and Methods

: The experiment was conducted at the Motilonia Research Center, located in the Cesar Valley, Colombia. A randomized block design was applied, with split-plot arrangement. The integration of the factors season of incorporation of manure, type of green manure (four legumes, control without incorporation of the legume and control with nitrogen fertilization) and use or not of microbial inoculation of the silage, were evaluated as treatments. The dry matter, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber, crude protein, in vitro digestibility, pH, ammoniacal nitrogen and concentration of lactic, acetic and butyric acid, were determined.

Results

: There was no effect of the incorporation season on silage quality. Higher content of dry matter (31,9 and 30,7 %), crude protein (8,9 and 8,0 %) and IVDMD (86,0 and 58,9 %) was found in the silo inoculated with regards to the non-inoculated one. In the parameters of fermentation, lower value of pH (3,6 and 4,0), NH3 (38 and 4,4 %), acetic acid (1,9 and 2,4 %), butyric (0,3 and 0,4 %) and increase of lactic acid (7,7 and 6,25) were noted in the inoculated silage compared with the non-inoculated one.

Conclusions

: Independently from the incorporation season and from the legume used as green manure, the inoculation of the silages improved the nutritional quality and their fermentation parameters.

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