Question:
“I am a beef cow calf producer in north Alabama. I have been putting up baleage for 3 years now and been very satisfied with the results. However I do sometimes have large patches of mold in some hay. I was wondering if using inoculants would help, and is there a big difference between wet and dry products? Also would it be something to use all the time or just when my forage is getting more mature? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. - Colin”
Answer:
Hi Colin. Thank you for your question.
There are a number of reasons to recommend the use of inoculants on baleage. I believe the foremost of these is the variability that is seen from bale to bale because each bale is a small fermentation unit. Using a quality inoculant tends to lead to a more consistent final product, with a higher overall quality.
Moving to your specific question on molds, one of the materials that we have demonstrated the products containing L. buchneri 40788 to be very effective on is baleage. The high dose L. buchneri 40788 used in our inoculants has been reviewed by the FDA to allow us to claim that the product prevents aerobic spoilage, due to the growth of yeasts and molds. The product I recommend for baleage is Buchneri 500, which combines the high dose L. buchneri 40788, to control yeast and mold growth, with the actives from our inoculant designed to dominate the initial fermentation (Biotal Plus II) to produce the most consistent quality baleage with the least spoilage and best feed-out stability.
I would always recommend liquid application, as it gives the best product distribution and applies the product in active, rehydrated form. We do not recommend dry application for baleage, partly because of the distribution issue and also because baleage tends to be higher dry matter than silage made in a pit or pile, and dry applied product has been shown to be less effective in higher dry matter materials in research done by the group at the University of Delaware.
I hope that this answers you question fully: please do not hesitate to get back to me if you need any clarification or additional explanation.
Best regards
The Doc
Question:
“Are there issues with feeding Goss's infected corn grain, stalks or silage to cattle?
Is there scientific evidence supporting harm to cattle caused by this
Bacterium? ”
Answer:
The potential effects of feeding Goss's infected corn to cattle is a fairly new topic.
This page - http://www.apsnet.org/publications/plantdisease/2011/January/Pages/95_1_73.2.aspx - shows that the topic is fairly recent, and in this newsletter - http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2011/0822robertson.htm - the ensiling process may reduce the bacterium survivability (see text below removed from the page).
What effect does ensiling have on the survival of Cmn?
No research has been done on the effect of ensiling on the survival of Cmn. During silage production, Cmn would be exposed to high temperatures, other microorganisms and low pH.
Although the effect of heat on the survival of Cmn has not been studied, it has been examined in closely related bacteria. Turner et al. (1983) concluded that survival of C.m. subsp. michiganensis (Cmm) was effectively reduced during anaerobic digestion at 95 F. Similarly Kaemmerer (2009) found C.m. subsp. sepedonicus was sensitive to heat during anaerobic digestion in biogas producers. Heat treatment at 127 F is used to control the sugar cane pathogen Clavibacter xyli subsp. xyli. Many bacterial plant pathogens are eradicated by a constant temperature of 140 F for one hour, in plant material (Noble et al., 2009). Thus, heat generated during silage production may negatively impact Cmn survivability.
The population of C.m. subsp. sepedonicus was negatively impacted by competition from other microbes in cattle manure slurry (Roozen and Vanvuurde 1991). Similarly, composts have been shown to reduce the survival of Cmm presumably due to competition although heat could also be involved (Yogev et al. 2009). Thus, competition from other microbes during silage production may reduce the survival of Cmn.
Low pH reduced the survival of Cmm (Ozdemir 2009). Thus, the low pH associated with silage may reduce survival of Cmn.
Question:
“We recently began to notice a silage pile of ours with different colored spots scattered throughout the area. Some parts are an orange color, some are yellowish and some look just fine. But when handling the colored parts, a colored residue appears on your hands.
We also noticed a “chlorine-like” smell from our field when we were cutting for silage. Would this be an issue caused by fungus or mold growing on our corn plants?”
Answer:
Dear Sir,
Are these colors becoming apparent because of the growth of molds, or are the just colors within the plant material? If it is mold growth, they should be able to see that the orange and yellow colors are due to spores and that underneath the spores the fungus is growing as a white mycelia growth (like white threads).
If the color is within the plant material, and given the “chlorine-like” smell and the fact that it discolors the hands, I believe what we are seeing here is that the plant had a high level of nitrates in patches (maybe due to drought stress?). These nitrates get converted into oxides of nitrogen in the silage, even in some cases into nitric acid, which can cause the bright yellow color, and can even cause the silage to go “bleached” looking. If this is what it is the pH of those yellow patches will be pretty low (c. pH 2, maybe even lower).
If this is what it is, the orange bits are more of a concern, since they may be giving off nitrogen dioxide, an orange gas that is heavier than air (so sinks and swirls around, a bit like carbon dioxide in the “smoke effects” used by 70′s rock bands). This gas is very toxic: I am attaching a technical bulletin we produced on it for more information. Needless to say, they need to be very careful as they feed this out, being sure to avoid inhaling any of the orangey gas and being careful to mix the silage thoroughly in the ration, so that a cow does not get a slug of stuff at very low pH. Best would be to carefully remove all the yellow and orange stuff and toss it.
Checking the pH of the yellow bits will tell us a lot. If some of the yellow stuff and the orange stuff is sent for analysis, I would expect an elevated N-level. It would also be interesting to test some more of the body of the silage see if it all has high nitrates.
Best regards,
The Silage Doctor
Question:
“What level of propionic acid would you need for 40% high-moisture shelled corn? Also, what would be the cause of an orange-colored mold?“
Answer:
Thank you for your question. Please review our table of recommended application rates of propionic acid to preserve high moisture corn.
These amounts are in pounds of propionic acid per 1000 lbs of wet corn, so you will need to double that amount to equal one ton. Also, you will need to convert for percent of propionic acid in the product: If the product is 70% propionic acid, you will need to divide by 0.7; if 60%, divide by 0.6, and so on. Use a lower rate for well-mixed corn and a higher rate if acid and grain cannot be well-mixed.
Orange-colored mold likely indicates rust. I have seen these on silages all over the world, especially heavily on oils palm kernel fronds, strangely, in Malaysia years ago. From the recent paper presented at the UF-Gainesville group at ADSA: “Southern rust is an aggressive disease caused by Puccina polysora fungi that can destroy a corn field in a few days. It is dispersed by airborne spores that form orange, circular pustules mainly on the upper leaf surface. The fungus diverts nutrients away from the plant causing leaf death.” Click Here for a posterette of that paper that shows how effective Biotal® Buchneri 500 was on the rust-infested materials.
