Presence of Clostridium in corn silage cut at different stages of maturity

Abstract

Com (Zea mays L.) was ensiled in plastic bags at five maturity stages and different moisture contents with the objective of determining the number of Clostridium spores present. Chemical analyses were made in the silage material to determine the protein content, dry matter, moisture, pH and NH₃/N. According to the results obtained, it was concluded that the corn presented an optimum level of dry matter (35%) for ensilage between 15 and 16 weeks after planting, in the stage of farinaceous grains. The high acidity of the ensiled mass (pH 3,96 - 4,10) was responsible for the inhibition of the germination of Clostridium sp. spores. The number of viable spores in the ensiled mass decreased with the increase of the dry matter content with the correlation coefficient (r = -0,7949**) statistically significant.