Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T05:53:29.329Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Paraformaldehyde as a silage additive

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

R. F. Wilson  and
B. J. Wilkins
R. F. Wilson
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SLG 5LR
B. J. Wilkins
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SLG 5LR
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

In three experiments, ryegrass and lucerne were ensiled for 100 days in test-tube silos containing about 100 g of crop either without additive or after the addition of paraformaldehyde or formalin to provide 0·1–0.4% of the fresh crop weight as formaldehyde (HCHO). When applied as prills containing 82% HCHO, paraformaldehyde was as effective as formalin in restricting fermentation and preventing extensive protein breakdown at comparable HCHO application rates. The lower solubility of paraformaldehyde containing 98 % HCHO as powder or prills made these forms less effective than formalin in restricting fermentation. Paraformaldehydecontaining 98% HCHO was, however, effective even at the lowest rate of application, in preventing clostridial-type fermentations when these were present in silages made from untreated crops.This was in contrast to formalin which promoted such fermentation at low rates of application.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 91 , Issue 1 , August 1978 , pp. 23 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (1965). Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, 10th edn.Washington: Association of Official Agricultural Chemists.Google Scholar
Hoffman, N. E., Barboriak, J. J. & Hardman, H. F. (1964). A sensitive gas ohromatographic method for the determination of lactic acid. Analytical Biochemistry 9, 175–179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kreula, M. (1973). Sailorehun laatu on nyt entota tarkeanpi. Karjatalous 49, 4–6.Google Scholar
Nash, T. (1953). The colorimetric estimation of formaldehyde by means of the Hantzsch reaction. Biochemical Journal 55, 416–421.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Playne, N. J. & McDonald, P. (1966). The buffering constituents of herbage and silage. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 17, 264–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waldo, D. R., Keys, J. E. Jr & Gordon, C. H. (1975). Paraformaldehyde compared with formic acid as a direct-out silage preservative. Journal of Dairy Science 58, 922–930.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, T. N. (1967). Formaldehyde. American Chemical Society Monograph no. 159, 3rd edn.New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Wilkins, R. J., Hutchinson, K. J., Wilson, R. F. & Harris, C. E. (1971). The voluntary intake of silage by sheep. I. Interrelationships between silage composition and intake. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 77, 531–537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkins, R. J., Wilson, R. F. & Woolford, M. K. (1974). The effect of formaldehyde on silage fermentation. Vaxlodling 29, 197–201. Proceedings of the 5th General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation, Uppsala, 1973.Google Scholar
Wilson, R. F. & Wilkins, R. J. (1972). An evaluation of laboratory ensiling techniques. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 23, 377–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar