Silage-specific compound enzyme regulate alfalfa silage quality and nutrient components

This study aimed at evaluating the effects of silage-specific mixed cellulase on alfalfa silage quality and nutrient components. We designed four treatments with six replicates per treatment according to completely random single factors. The cellulase, xylanase, amylase, and β-glucanase activities were ≥ 60 000, ≥ 2 500, ≥ 300 000, and ≥ 300 000 U ·g⁻¹ of the silage cellulase used in the experiment. These factors were added to alfalfa silage in four different treatment concentrations: 0 (T₁), 2.5‰ (T₂), 5.0‰ (T₃), and 7.5‰ (T₄). The results showed that after 60 days, the supplementation of the silage-specific compound enzyme improved the content of crude protein content in group T₄ (P < 0.05). The contents of acidic detergent fiber in groups T₃ and T₄ were significantly lower than those in group T₁ (P < 0.01), whereas the relative feeding values of T₃ and T₄ were significantly higher than those of T₁ (P < 0.01). The pH of the silage significantly reduced on adding cellulases (P < 0.01); the lactic acid and lactic acid/acetic acid contents of groups T₂ and T₃ were significantly higher than those of group T₁ (P < 0.05), and the stable aerobic exposure times of T₂ and T₃ were significantly lower than those of T₁ and T₄ (P < 0.05). In summary, under the conditions of this study, the silage-specific cellulase improved the fermentation quality and nutritional value of alfalfa silage, and the optimum supplementation level of silage-specific cellulase was 5.0‰.