Abstract
The research purpose was to develop the basics for silage preparation by vacuuming with the use of flexible polymer containers and estimating silage quality. The analysis of modern systems used for silage preparation and storage showed that the main disadvantages include the high storage and preparation costs, and losses of silage weight and nutrients by 3–25% after opening of storage facilities. To eliminate these disadvantages, the basics for preparing the silage by vacuuming in flexible polymer containers that can be transported and stored with optimum volume have been studied and developed. The study pursuits its goals by observing the changes in density and degree of silage compaction caused by the vacuum pressure and deadweight. A comparative estimation of silage quality indices was conducted by means of chemical analysis of silage specimens. The results show graphical dependencies of changes in silage volume and density at vacuum pressure up to 60 kPa. Moreover, a comparative assessment of quality indices of silage specimens prepared by vacuuming in soft containers, and traditional method using trenches was conducted. The reliability of results for silage storing quality in a vacuum container was achieved by fivefold test repetition within 2 years. Comparison of silage quality indices obtained using vacuum technology and traditional method showed improvement in favour of the proposed method: dry matter by 2.05%; protein by a factor of 1.47; nitrogenous substances by 1.37; starch by 1.56; calcium by 1.83; phosphorus by 2; digestible protein by 1.24; feed unit by 1.31; exchange energy by 1.16, which was achieved thanks to the elimination of succus leakage.