Dry matter concentration and corn silage density: Effects on forage quality

Considering the hypothesis that density and dry matter (DM) concentration may be used as indicators of silage nutritional quality, the aim of the present study was to determine density and maturation stage (i.e. DM concentration) of corn silages under farm conditions in Brazil, establishing relationships between density and physical and chemical characteristics. In a completely randomized design, 20 bunkers of corn silage, each from a different farm, were used for data collection. Using a coring machine, 5 samples of silage were extracted from an exposed face of each silo and samples were analyzed for density of compaction, plus concentrations of DM, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), total digestible nutrients (TDN), total carbohydrate (TC), non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC) and starch (STA), as well as electrical conductivity. There was significant variation in many of the parameters measured with the greatest variation in density on a natural matter basis. Negative correlations were observed between percentages of DM, NDF and ADF in the silage and silage density on a natural matter basis (P