Water soluble carbohydrate and mono- and oligosaccharides content of wilted timothy (Phleum pratense L.) harvested in the morning and evening and fermentation quality of wilted silage

The first cutting grass of timothy was harvested at 8.00 hour (morning harvest) and 15.00 hour (evening harvest) from pastures of 5 dairy farms in 5 regions in the district of the Nemuro Branch in Hokkaido, and wilted until 13.00 hour on the same day (daytime wilted grass) or 9.00 hour on the following day (nighttime wilted grass). Silage was prepared from the wilted grasses with and without addition of lactic acid bacterial inoculant. The water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and mono- and oligosaccharides contents were higher by 2.9% DM and 1.9% DM, respectively in the evening harvest than in the morning harvest. The WSC and mono- and oligosaccharides contents were reduced in both the daytime and nighttime wilted grasses, and the reductions in the nighttime wilted grass were about 9 times and 2 times larger, respectively, than those in the daytime wilted grass. The WSC content prior to ensiling was slightly lower in the nighttime wilted grass. After ensiling of the wilted grasses, the fermentation quality was poorer in all silages fermented without lactic acid bacterial inoculant, regardless of the region. Addition of a lactic acid bacterial inoculant to the daytime wilted silage improved the fermentation quality regardless of the regions. However, the extent of improvement in the nighttime wilted silage was small in regions with low WSC contents. The sugar content of the grasses was markedly reduced during silage fermentation.