The objective of this trial was to evaluate chemical and bacterial additives on inhibition of ethanol production, reduction of DM losses and on in vitro digestibility improvement of sugar cane silages. Treatments were (wet basis): without additive - control; urea - UR - (0.5; 1.0; 1.5%), NaOH (1; 2; 3%), calcium propionate - PROP - (0.05; 0.1; 0.2%), sodium benzoate - BENZ - (0.05; 0.1; 0.2%), potassium sorbate - SORB - (0.015; 0.03; 0.045%), Lactobacillus plantarum - PLA - (1 x 10(6) cfu/g), Lactobacillus buchneri - BUCH - (3.64 x 10(5) cfu/g), L. plantarum combined with urea (0.5 e 1.0%) - PLA/UR-0.5% and PLA/UR-1.0%. Sugar cane was ensiled in 20 L plastic buckets with valves for gas release and a device for effluent collection. Data were collected at 90 and 180 d after ensiling. None of the additives was effective in reducing ethanol concentration in the silages and PROP-0.1% and PLA increased alcohol levels relative to control (4.8 and 12.5% vs 3.8% in DM, respectively). The treatments UR, NaOH, SORB-0.03%, BUCH, PLA/UR-0.5% and PLA/UR-1.0% reduced total DM losses. Silages treated with UR, NaOH, BENZ and SORB-0,045% had higher in vitro DM digestibility than the control silage.
benzoate; L. buchneri; L. plantarum; propionate; sodium hydroxide; sorbate
