Abstract
SILAGE of good quality has a pH of 4.2 or less, with the possible exception of silage made from wilted materials. If grass with a high protein content is ensiled, acids or carbohydrates may have to be added to obtain such a low pH. It seems, however, that merely crushing the grass also has the effect of lowering the pH. Gneist1 probably was the first who noticed that crushing resulted in lower losses of nitrogen-free extractives and digestible protein. He ascribed this effect to the inactivation of enzymes. Crasemann and Heinzl2 found that the formation of lactic acid was speeded up by crushing. Watson3 is of the same opinion, and thinks that it might be possible to make good silage merely by crushing.
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References
Gneist, K., Forschungsdienst, 17, 416 (1944).
Crasemann, E., and Heinzl, O., J. Brit. Grassl. Soc., 4, 263 (1949).
Watson, S. J., “Grassland and Grassland Products” (London, 1951).
Brouwer, E., Versl. Land. Onderz., 43, 55 (1937).
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DE MAN, J. Influence of Crushing on the pH of Grass Silage. Nature 169, 246–247 (1952). https://doi.org/10.1038/169246b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/169246b0
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