Nutritive value, total losses of dry matter and aerobic stability of the silage from three varieties of sugarcane treated with commercial microbial additives

• High sugars content in ensiling favors the dry matter losses.
• Lactobacillus buchneri improves the aerobic stability of sugarcane silages.
• Lactobacillus plantarum is deleterious to the preservation of sugarcane silages.

The practice of ensiling sugarcane without additives results in marked reduction in silage nutritional value due to the rapid fermentation of water-soluble carbohydrates by yeasts. Using commercial inoculants containing homo and heterolactic bacteria during the ensiling process is an important alternative. However, the effectiveness of these inoculants has not been determined. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the effect of using two commercial inoculants during the fermentation of three varieties of sugarcane on the nutritive value, total losses of dry matter and aerobic stability of the silages. We used a completely randomized design in a 3 × 3 factorial scheme (three varieties and three treatments) with five repetitions. The silages were produced in experimental PVC silos (50 cm height and 10 cm diameter), remaining closed for a period of 30 days. Treatments consisted of no inoculant, inoculant A (Lalsil® sugarcane, Lactobacillus buchneri, strain NCIMB 40788, 2.5 × 1010 CFU/g) and inoculant B (Silobac® 5, Lactobacillus plantarum, strains CH 6072 and L286, 1 × 105 CFU/g). In all treatments, silages showed increased concentrations of NDF and ADF, and reduction in DM relative to material prior to ensiling. Treatment with inoculant B resulted in greater total losses of DM and fractions of ammonia nitrogen, as well as lower levels of IVDMD and smaller ME, especially for variety RB92579. Treatment with inoculant A improved aerobic stability of silages. The high concentration of sugars (Brix) presented by RB92579 seemed to favor the activity of the yeast and consequently the losses.