Green fodder is short in summer. I want to make maize silage in a pit to feed my cows year round. What is the process?
How do I make maize silage in a bunker or pit for my dairy animals?
KKishan Lal7 महीने पहले · 319 व्यू
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🌾Farmer.in Krishi Teamविशेषज्ञ ✓7 महीने पहले
Silage works by airtight fermentation, so the key is to chaff, pack tight, and seal completely. Harvest maize at the dough stage when the grain is milky to doughy and moisture is right, then chaff it into short pieces of about 2 to 3 cm so it packs well. Fill the pit or bunker in layers, compacting each layer hard by tractor or by foot to push out air, and consider adding a little jaggery solution or a silage culture to help fermentation if the crop is low in sugar. When full, cover tightly with a plastic sheet and weigh it down with soil, sandbags or old tyres so no air or rainwater gets in. It is usually ready in about 6 to 8 weeks and good silage smells slightly sweet and sour, not rotten. Take out only what you need each day and reseal to avoid spoilage.
RRamavtar Meena7 महीने पहले
Compaction is everything. The first time I did not pack hard enough and the top layer spoiled. Now I drive the tractor over it repeatedly and seal it the same day, and the silage keeps for months.
BBanwari Lal Jat6 महीने पहले
Dig the pit slightly above the surrounding ground level or on a raised spot so rainwater does not seep in from the sides. Water entering the pit ruined a batch for me once. A double layer of good thick plastic on top, weighted well, keeps both air and water out.
MMool Chand Saini5 महीने पहले
Getting the moisture right matters as much as packing. If the maize is too dry it will not ferment well and if too wet it goes sour and slimy. The squeeze test helped me, the chaffed material should hold together when squeezed but not drip water. Introduce silage slowly into the ration so the animals get used to it.
HHari Singh Gurjar5 महीने पहले
A good chaff cutter is worth the money. The short even pieces pack far tighter than roughly cut fodder, and air pockets are what spoil silage. I borrowed one the first year and bought my own after seeing the difference in how the pit kept.
BBhagwan Sahay Meena4 महीने पहले
If your maize is short on sugar a little jaggery solution sprinkled while filling really does help the fermentation get going. I learnt this from the KVK and the silage smelt sweeter and kept better after that. Seal the same day you finish filling, do not leave the pit open overnight.
KKailash Chand Gujjar4 महीने पहले
Open the pit from one end only and take a clean slice each day rather than digging into the middle, then cover it back. The first season I opened the whole top and the exposed face went mouldy. Working it like a face, smallest opening possible, keeps the rest good for months.