Table 3.
Fermentation characteristics of alfalfa silage on different days of silage.
| Items | Group | Ensiling(d) | SEM | P-value | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1d | 3d | 5d | 7d | 15d | 30d | T | D | T×D | |||
| pH | CK | 6.20ABa | 5.99ABb | 5.73Ac | 5.18Bd | 5.18Ad | 5.12Ad | 0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 |
| LP | 6.17BCa | 5.90ABb | 5.83Ab | 4.91Cc | 4.67Dd | 4.99ABc | |||||
| MP | 6.13Ca | 5.83Bb | 5.24Cc | 4.84Cde | 4.76Ce | 4.93Bd | |||||
| HP | 6.23Aa | 6.03Ab | 5.61Bc | 5.43Ad | 5.17Ae | 5.13Ae | |||||
| Ammonia-N (g/kg DM) | CK | 10.3Ae | 12.4Ad | 15.9Ac | 18.7Ab | 23.6Ba | 24.3Ba | 0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 |
| LP | 8.7Bf | 12.6Ae | 14.7Bd | 17.3Bc | 24.3Ab | 27.3Aa | |||||
| MP | 8.7Be | 11.7Bd | 14.1Cc | 16.8Bb | 17.1Cab | 17.7Ca | |||||
| HP | 7.1Ce | 10.8Cd | 12.4Dc | 14.4Cb | 14.7Dab | 15.4Da | |||||
| Lactic acid (g/kg DM) | CK | 10.8Ae | 15.6Ad | 19.7Cc | 23.1Bb | 25.8Da | 26.3Da | 0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 |
| LP | 10.5Af | 16.1Ae | 20.5Bd | 28.1Ac | 38.7Ab | 45.6Aa | |||||
| MP | 10.2Af | 14.5Be | 21.9Ad | 28.9Ac | 36.6Bb | 43.2Ba | |||||
| HP | 8.4Bf | 13.6Ce | 20.2BCd | 23.9Bc | 31.4Cb | 40.1Ca | |||||
| Acetic acid (g/kg DM) | CK | 3.3Af | 12.4Ae | 27.7Ad | 31.5Ac | 41.8Ab | 46.7Aa | 0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 |
| LP | 3.6Af | 11.3Be | 24.5Bd | 30.2Bc | 38.4Bb | 41.2Ba | |||||
| MP | 2.7Bf | 11.4Be | 23.0Cd | 29.3Cc | 37.5Ca | 32.9Cb | |||||
| HP | 1.9Cf | 10.5Ce | 21.8Dd | 29.6BCc | 36.6Da | 31.4Cb | |||||
| Butyric acid (g/kg DM) | CK | 2.5Bf | 5.6Ae | 8.7Ad | 12.5Ac | 14.4Ab | 16.4Aa | 0.003 | <0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 |
| LP | 3.1Af | 5.6Ae | 7.8Bd | 9.6Cc | 13.5Bb | 15.4Aa | |||||
| MP | 201Ce | 4.7Bd | 6.7Cc | 10.3Bb | 12.5Ca | 12.7Ba | |||||
| HP | 1.1Df | 2.5Ce | 4.7Dd | 7.6Dc | 09.5Db | 13.1Ba | |||||
CK, without salt stress; LP, under light salt stress; MP, under moderate salt stress; HP, under severe salt stress; DM, dry matter; T, salt stress; D, ensiling day; T × D, interaction between salt stress and silage days; SEM, standard error of mean value. The mean values (a–f) of different letters in the same column were significantly different (P < 0.05).