Effects of Endophyte Infection of Grasses on the Chemical Composition, Quality and Stability of Silage

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of Neotyphodium coenophialum endophyte infection of fescue forage on the chemical stability and nutritive value of the forages and silages and on the quality and aerobic stability of the silages. The content of water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) in both forages was similar. The infected fescue (E) had a higher buffering capacity than the control fescue (statistically significant difference). The experimental silage had significantly higher dry matter than the control silage. The dry matter of endophyte-infected silage (E) contained more organic matter than that of the control silage, with a highly significant difference. The endophyte-infected silage (E) had a significantly lower content of crude protein than the control silage. There were no statistically significant differences in the content of other nutrients. In 1 kg dry matter of the fescue silage there was 91.80 g crude protein on average. 1 kg dry matter of the E silage contained more milk feed units than the control silages, with a statistically significant difference. Acidity of the E silage was higher than that of the control silage (4.19 vs 4.08) and the difference was statistically significant. Lactic acid prevailed in the silages and their quality assessed on the Flieg-Zimmer scale was very good. The level of the alkaloid ergovaline in the Neotyphodium-infected forage was high (2.63 ig/g). In this study the levels of infection were 52% (seeds) and 47% (forage). No ergovaline was found in the silages made from the infected forage.