This research was conducted to evaluate the effects of burning and additivess (urea, sodium benzoate, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), Propionibacterium acidipropionici + Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus buchneri) on sugar cane silage. A randomized complete design was used, in a 2 × 6 factorial scheme with two sugar cane forages (natural or burned) and six treatments (five additive sources plus a control) with three replications. The gas and effluent losses during the fermentation process and dry matter recovery (DMR) were determined. Greater DMR was observed in the burned sugar cane silage (77.3%) compared to the crude silage (73.1%). Among the additives, greater DM recovery was observed in the silages treated with the NaOH or L. buchneri silage, that showed 84.0% DMR, and the control silage with 69.0%. After opening, an important aspect is the inhibition of pH elevation, in this case, measured by the variation in the pH values (VpH). Sodium benzoate and L. buchneri were efficient inhibitors of the VpH, showing values of 0.05 and 0.18 per pH unit, respectively. Ensiled sugar cane without additives, raw or burned, is a strategy that presents high quantitative losses. L. buchneri effectively reduces losses during the fermentation and post-opening phases of raw or burned sugar cane silage.
aerobic stability; fermentation; inoculants; losses; silage
