The document provides information about a seminar on advances in anaerobic fermentation techniques for conservation of forage for small holders. It discusses: 1) The importance of green fodder for livestock and the need to conserve limited supplies of quality fodder for small holders. 2) Techniques like silage making which involve packing chopped green fodder in an airtight condition to preserve nutrients and make it easily digestible. 3) How silage can be made using inexpensive methods like plastic bags that are easy for small holders to use and provide a nutritious fodder that can be stored for long periods.

2. Master Seminar
on
Advances in Anaerobic Fermentation Techniques for
Conservation of Forage for Small Holders
Presented by
Miss. Meshram Pranjali Bhaudas
Reg. No. :-2017A/14ML
Seminar Incharge & Research Guide
Dr: R. A. Patil
Assistant Professor,
Department of AHDS,
COA, Latur.
Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth,
Parbhani.

3. Contents
1. Introduction
2. Importance of green fodder
3. Cost cutting strategy
4. Problem areas
5. Fermentation
6. Types of forages
7. Functions of green forages
8. What is silage
9. Objectives
10.Uses advantages & disadvantages
11. Application
12.Forage preservation
13. Composite silage
14. Judging quality of silage
15. Methods of preservation
16. Feeding scheme
17. Additives
18. Type of plastics
19. Sealing bag
20. Pollution& waste
21. Conclusion

4. Present Livestock sector play and crucial role in the national economy.
The enterprises provide sustainable income and employment in rural
sectors for small holders marginal farmers and landless population.
Short supply of seeds of fodder crops, preference of cash crops over
fodder crops by farmers and many other reasons.
Therefore to insure the supply high quality of nutritive fodder it is very
essential not only to grow best varieties of fodder crops but also harvest
it completely at one go.
INTRODUCTION

5. The prevalent practice in many part of country is cutting the required
quantity of fodder daily and that is being fed directly to livestock.
The major drawback of this practice is non availability of essential
nutrients throughout because of mature herbs and harden stems that
passed high percentage of crude fibre.
The land under fodder cultivation in small holders very limited.
A technology of anaerobic fermentation of fodder crop are convenient
for small holders was developed.

6. Cattle - 190 Millions
Buffaloes - 108 Millions
Sheep - 71.6 Millions
Goats - 140.5 Millions
Demand(in
million tonnes)
Supply (in million
tonnes)
Deficit/
percentage
Green fodder 816.8 525.5 35.66
Dry fodder 508.9 453.2 10.95
Total livestock population in India :-
Demand supply :-
Baig et.al.
Patange and Ranveer (2016)

7. Traditionally, green fodder is natural feedstuff for dairy animals.
Cost of feed and fodder both constitute more than 60% of total
expenditure of production animal
This expenditure can be substantially reduce if emphasis is given to
cultivation of home.
Growing of high yielding varieties of leguminous and non leguminous
fodder and its proper conservation and utilization.
Another way to reduce reliance on concentrate feeding to base
minimum.
The cattle and buffalo producing capacity of 4 to 5 litter of milk can be
sustain only on good quality hay and green fodder by reducing there
cost.
Importance of green fodder

8. •As the availability of green fodder is very feasible, then
the cost on concentrates will get reduce.
•The cattle and buffalo with producing capacity of 4 to 5
lit of milk can be sustain only on good quality hay and
green fodder dry there by reducing the the cost incur on
concentrate
Cost cutting strategies of green
fodder

9. •How a small holder will be supply green forages to high quality?
• How to conserve the limited amount of quality fodder available with
him?
• The Traditional methods of silage making like pits or tower silo are
labour intensive and need fodder in bulk Quantity?

10. Types of forages
Leguminous crops are Lucerne, berseem, cowpea.
Non-leguminous are maize, sorghum, bajara.
Perennial grasses are like napiar , hybrid napiar.
To supply uniform quality of green fodder throughout the year is essential.
Right stage of harvesting of green fodder crop is outmost essential to ensure
availability of the animals.
Ensuring the conservation of nutrients. (In forage)
FUNCTION OF GREEN FORAGES

11. • “Silage is a feed stuff resulting from the preservation of green forage crops by acidification is
called as silage”
OR
• “Fodder is packed in airtight condition to preserve its nutritional value, improve its quality and
taste and to make it easily digestible "this is called silage or pickle of the fodder
• Silage is the conserved green fodder having moisture content in
range of 65-70 %
• Lactic acid will preserve silage as long as the silage is not
exposed to oxygen
• Contain 20 to 40% DM and 14 to 16% CP.
• Under proper storage condition, silage can be stored even up to
two year

12. A good management plan
will deliver on the 3 main
objectives for quality silage
Good yield for 1st cut
silage with high annual
grass tonnage per hectare
 A clean, well-preserved
feed with good palatability
 The appropriate
nutritional quality to make
forage storable
OBJECTIVES

13. Selection of crops for silage making
• It is easier to ensile forages that have
• High level of fermentable sugar
• Low level of protein
• Low buffering capacity
• Should have about 35% dry matter at the time of ensiling

14. Aim To make forage storable Inhibition of nutrient
loss caused by
Action of plant
enzymes
microbes
FORAGE PRESERVATION

15. • Chop the forage to lengths of about 1
inch (2.5cms) using a chaff cutter.
• Spread a polythene sheet, canvas on to
a flat surface and place 50-70 kg of the
chopped material .Spread the material
into a thin layer.
The following steps should be followed when making silage using plastic bags.
• Dilute 1 liter of molasses with
1 - 3 liters of water (enough
water to spread the 1 liter
molasses onto the 50 - 70 kg
of chopped forage.
Step l
Step2

16. Sprinkle the diluted molasses (preferably in a watering can) on to the chopped forage
as evenly as possible. Turn/mix the forage repeatedly to ensure an even spread
Step 3
Step 4
 Tie one end of a 2.5m long plastic tubing
(1.5m width, 1000gauge) to make a large
"plastic bag".
 Place the 50 -70kg of forage already mixed
with molasses into the "plastic bag" and
compact as much as possible.

17. Step 5
Repeat steps 1 - 3 twice, each time compacting
thoroughly after adding the forage into the "plastic bag”.
Step 6
Tie the top of the "plastic bag" tightly ensuring as
little air as possible remains above the forage -
molasses mixture.
Step 7
 Store away from direct sunlight or rain.
 It may be useful to place some weight (rocks/stones)
on the tied sack to maintain the compacting.

18. Chaff cutter for small holders
Chaff cutter for small holders

19. Prepared Silage

20. Phases of Fermentation
1st Phase
2nd Phase
(10-20 days)
3rd Phase
(Phase of standstill)
 Plant respiratory enzyme
activity as long as
conditions are aerobic,
 Production of CO2
decrease the pH
 Destruction of plant
tissues,
 Loss of cell integrity and
turgor
 Aerob micro organisms are
replaced by anaerobs,
 No. of lactic acid bacteria is
increasing,
 Mobilization of soluble
carbohydrates,
 Production of lactic acid,
 Decrement of the pH
 pH is standard,
 No more microbial
activity

21. 1. Aerobic phase: Which occur in the presence of oxygen (air).The oxygen that is
present in the forage, as it is placed into storage ,is consumed by the plant
material through the process of respiration. Under aerobic conditions, plant
enzymes and microorganisms consume oxygen and burn up plant water- soluble
carbohydrates (sugar), producing carbon dioxide and heat.
2. Anaerobic phase: The anaerobic phase begins when available oxygen is used up
by respiration and aerobic bacteria cease to function. Anaerobic bacteria(bacteria
that grow in the absence of oxygen) then begin to multiply rapidly and the
fermentation process begins.
Two phases of silage

22. Fermentation of silage
Heterolactic Fermentation :
Less desirable, occurs when limited sugars are available.
Mediated by Lactobacillus brevis.
Sugars mainly fermented to acetic acid & alcohol
Less efficient than Homolactic fermentation
Homolactic fermentation :
Very desirable, common in high sugar grasses.
Sugar fermentated to lactic acid low pH nutrient loss.
Mediated by Lactobacillus plantarum.

23. Possible Alternatives
BATCH CONTAINERS
&
COMPOSITE SILAGE

24. 1. Bamboo boxes
2. Plastic drums
3. Plastic bags
Anaerobic Fermentation Or Silage In Batch
Containers

27. • Bamboo Boxes / bamboo make containers
• Size -5x5x5 ft. or 7x7x7 ft
• Capacity--- 1500 to 2000 kg.
• Internal lining with polyethin of 200 micron
• Compaction manually and air tight sealing

30. Easy to fabricate

31. No. of bamboo box as per need can be prepared
Bamboo boxes

32. PLASTIC BAGS

33. Special design plastic bags
Size– 3.5x 3.0x 4.0 ft.
Capacity --- 600 to 800 kg

34. Physical and chemical quality as good as traditional type silage

35. Plastic Bag

38. Reusable plastic drums

39. •Availability of large quantity of vegetable waste can be a cheap source of nutritive
feedstuff and can be conserve by anaerobic fermentation mixed with main crops.
•Distillery Waste – Maize bran / barley bran
̶ Rich source of energy
̶ Highly perishable
̶ But can be conserve by this technique with main crop.
Composite Silages

40. Vegetable waste as a ingredient for composite silage

41. Rich source of carbohydrate for composite silage
Maize bran ( distillery waste ))

42. •Optimum stage of harvesting
•Moisture percent in the crop or other ensiling material
•Size of the particles
•Proper impaction
•Anaerobic condition
•Safety of batch containers
Norms of silage making

43. Item
Grass silage
25-35% DM
Corn silage
35-40%DM
High moisture
Corn 70-73%
pH 4.3-4.7 3.7-4.2 4.0 – 4.5
Lactic acid% 6-10 4-7 0.5 – 2.0
Acetic acid% 1-3 1-3 <0.5
Propionic acid% <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Butyric acid% <0.5 0 0
Ethanol% 0.5-1.0 1-3 0.2 – 2.0
Ammonia-N
%of CP
8-12 5-7 <10
Amounts of common fermentation end products in various silage
Kung and Muck, (1997)

44. • When the maize plants are harvested before the flowering stage, more nutrients can be
available for animal feeding.
• It is produced both cold and cloudy weather.
• Better use of land with 2-3 crops annually.
• It can stored up to 2-3 years without any deterioration.
• Losses due to shattering, leaching and bleaching during silage making are avoided.
• The silage making is less affected by adverse weather conditions, as compared to hay making .
• Weeds are also be utilize along with main fodder crops for silage making kills majority of weed
seeds.
• The bag is easily stored and easily portable so that any member of the family can carry it to the
feed through the cow.
• Plastics silage bags are economical alternative to traditional silage storage systems, such as pits
and silos when related, harvest and storage losses are considered.
Advantages of silage making

45. The management of silo is sometime difficult on the form because once a silo is
open then silage should remove in daily basis to minimize the loss of nutritive
value.
It does not allow to longer transportation.
Silage is not interesting for marketing as its value is difficult to be determine.
 Loss of nutrients during storage in a silo is unavoidable and may be high if the
silage is not prepared properly.
Disadvantages of silage making

46. Silage is good source of nutritious food.
Silage makes animals gain weight in short period, especially in sheep
Dairy cow produce more milk with silage feeding.
In this case, feed it with green fodder or concentrate mixed in the silage, so that it
develops a taste for the silage then increase its quantity gradually.
Give 15 to 20 kg silage along with concentrate daily to the lactating animals.
Be careful when removing silage from the bunker. Cover it with polythene so that
mud or moisture does not spoil the silage.
Uses/Applications

47. • The nutrient status of grassland can be boosted by inorganic fertilizers.
• the value of nutrients contained in organic manures, which have been deposited
by animals or spread mechanically, should be taken into account before any
inorganic fertilizer is applied.
Acidity (pH)
Yield reductions will result if pH falls below the ideal of 6–6.5.
pH <4.5 4.5-5.0 5.0-5.5 5.5-6.0 6.0-6.5
yield 87% 88% 91% 96% 100%

48. The quality of silage is judged by its color, smell, taste and touch.
Color : pale yellow indicates good quality. If the color is dark brown- dark green,
the silage is bad fermentation and quality.
Smell: Acidic or Sweet sour pleasant smell indicate good quality
Taste: if the silage taste sour and there is no problem in putting it ones mouth, the
quality is good. If the silage tastes bitter and one cannot put it in once mouth, the
quality is poor.
Touch: When squeezing the silage tightly in a hand and the opening the hand, if
the silage breaks slowly that silage is good quality. The silage breaks in to small
pieces separately the silage is deficient in moisture content
Judging the quality of Silage

49. D.M.D % 75 70 65 60
Harvest date 20 may 2 June 15 June 28 June
Silage TDM /
ha.
4.6 6.0 7.0 7.7
Intake
(kg/day)
9.0 8.3 7.6 7.0
Live weight
gain (kg/day)
0.83 0.66 0.49 0.31
Silage quality

50. Molasses with 10%
Corn Silage
(kg)
Concentrate
(kg)
Urea
(kg)
Marketable bulls 18 2 -
Marketable heifers 17 2 -
Fattening bulls
(rejecteds)
20 4 1
Culled cows 20 - 1
Group Feed per head per day
Feeding schemes
Montemayor, et al.

51. • The most common ones are organic acids, molasses and preservatives
• Silage additive should increased DM ( nutrient) recovery.
• It improve animal performance.
• Adding molasses to the silage, the pH of the silage can be quickly reduced to a
level below 4.0 .
• Preservatives such as salt.
• Salt adds flavor & it mainly reduces water activity.
• Additive can enhance the silage quality.
• Lactic acid bacteria are most common silage additive.
• Some biological and chemical agents and enzymes which are used as a silage
additives
Silage Additives

52. Crop Stage %Crude Protein %TDN
Corn Silage Tassel 10.7 64.4
Milk 8.0 69.0
Glaze or Early Dent 8.0 71.0
Full Dent 8.0 68.9
Past Bloom 12.3 49.8
Grass Silage Pre-Bloom 20.4 73.2
Spike 14.0 67.6
Milk 12.1 65.0
Dough 10.6 60.0
Mature 5.3 52.7
Cut Crop at the Proper Stage of Maturity
Notice when cut at the right stage of maturity, the TDN values are all above 60-70%bin feed value Dairy updates ( 2012)

53. COMPONENT TARGET for CORN
pH <4.0
Lactic acid >3%
Acetic acid <3%
Propionic acid --
Butyric acid --
Ethanol <0.5%
Ammonia nitrogen <10%
Color Green, yellow green
Smell Pleasant smell
Evaluating
After sufficient fermentation has occurred, silage can be evaluated for quality in a
number of ways. The chart below offers targets for silage constituents:
Brian (2013)

54. Ag / grain bag Bunker covers Bale Wrap
The silos in the background
have been replaced with the
more efficient ag bags in the
foreground
• Losses are minimized by
decreasing crop porosity,
maintaining the integrity of the
plastic seal & removing silage
from the face during feed out at
high rates
• Density 100-400 D
• Wrapping of large, round/
rectangular bales with multiple
layer of strench polyethylene
film is becoming more popular
ensiling practice
• Wrapped in lines end- end
• Most prevalent
• Min of four layers of 25μm
Types of plastics
Modern techniques of silage making

55. •The fermentation process of silo or pit silage releases liquid.
•Silo effluent is corrosive. It can also contaminate water sources unless collected and treated.
•The high nutrient content can lead to eutrophication (hypertrophication), the growth of bacterial
or algal blooms.
•Plastic sheeting used for sealing pit or baled silage needs proper disposal, and some areas have
recycling schemes for it.
•Traditionally, farms have burned silage plastics; however odour and smoke concerns have led
certain communities to restrict that practice.
Pollution and waste

56. FEEDING
Silage is typically a high quality feed usually fed to livestock that have
high nutrient requirements such as young animals and dairy animals.
Livestock generally enjoy silage but some consideration must be made
to feed it successfully.
Any portion of silage to be fed that is obviously spoiled or moldy must
be disposed off.
Silage should be fed within hours of opening the silo but it must fed out
over.
The greatest energy production and average daily gain of any silage
crop it is important to recognize deficiency in protein ,phosphorus ,and
vit A .

57. •The silage in small containers like in bamboo make containers or in plastic
bags has become very popular with the farmers with small herd size and
adopted but large number of livestock owners.
•Forage conservation is also provide farmers with a means of preserving
forage when production is faster than can be adequately utilize by grazing
animals.
• Forage provides more uniform level of high quality forage for ruminant
livestock throughout the year.
Conclusion

58. •Silage is a feed option that can make nutritious green fodder
available in times when it would otherwise be un obtainable.
More field scale research is needed to test additive effect on nutrient
recovery with silage stored in small well-sealed plastic silos as
might be realizable with small holders.
•During a insufficient fodder for the animal Silage is the best option
to overcome it.

59. References:
Campbell. B. (2013). Small scale silage production.
Kung L. (2007). Silage production. University of Delaware.
Mannetje. L. (2000). Silage for animal feed. Wageningen University, The Netherlands Vol. (8).
Michel W. Introduction to Silage Making. The Babcock Institute University of Wisconsin.
Feeding No.502