Effect of sour yoghurt addition to corn silage on fermentation quality, aerobic stability and In Vitro digestibility

This study was designed to determine the effect of sour yogurt addition on fermentation, aerobic stability and in vitro digestibility of corn silage. The research material consisted of 2nd crop corn (Pioneer 32K61) and sour yoghurt harvested in October. Trial groups; control without yogurt added, 10 g/kg fresh corn (Y10), 20 g/kg fresh corn (Y20), 30 g/kg fresh corn (Y30), 40 g/kg fresh corn (Y40), and 50 g/kg fresh corn maize (Y50). A total of 24 packages, 4 for each group, were left to ferment under laboratory conditions (10-20 °C) for 60 days.In the study, it was found that the amount of crude protein (CP) and crude fat (EE) increased with the addition of sour yogurt (P<0.01). This was due to the high CP and EE content of yogurt. Neutral detergent cellulose (NDF), acid detergent cellulose (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) contents of corn silages were highest in the control group and lowest in Y40 and Y50 groups (P<0.01). Water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) contents were increased in the groups to which yoghurt was added at high level (P<0.01). In the study, the highest lactic acid (LA) content was determined as 69.44 and 69.48 g/kg DM in the Y40 and Y50 groups, while the lowest was determined as 64.64 g/kg DM in the control group (P<0.01).As the amount of yogurt added to corn increased, the amount of ammonia nitrogen decreased, but the increase in the added level also caused an increase in NH3-N losses in direct proportion to the increase in the protein content of the Y50 group (P<0.01). Soluble organic matter in enzyme (ELOS), in vitro organic matter digestibility and metabolic energy contents of corn silages increased with the addition of yogurt (P<0.01). As a result, the addition of sour yogurt to corn at the level of 20 and 30 g/kg positively affected the chemical and microbiological properties of silages. Keywords: Corn, Sour yoghurt, Fermentation quality, Silage.