**1. Introduction**

Silage is the feedstuff produced by the fermentation of a crop, forage, or agricultural byproduct, usually at greater than 50% moisture content [1]. In Brazil, silage is the principal source of energy and fiber in the diets of dairy cattle [2] and is frequently used in feedlots for the production of beef cattle [3]. However, descriptions of silage production practices and utilization in Brazilian literature are poor [4]. Furthermore, there is a lack of extension programs in Brazil that disseminate and enhance the knowledge of farmers regarding silage management, which has contributed to the production of low-quality products in many cases. As a strategy to alter this scenario, several farmers have chosen to use bacterial inoculants in order to improve silage quality and reduce production costs by decreasing the loss of dry matter (DM). Nevertheless, in Brazil, there are few reviews and surveys concerning the impact of bacterial inoculants on ensiling practices. In addition, the most complete review of this topic (see [5]) indicated that the low number of studies conducted in Brazil at that time did not produce a definitive conclusion about the magnitude of the effect of additives on silage quality and animal performance.

**Figure 1.** Number of Brazilian articles published concerning bacterial inoculant utilization from the last 26 years (total

Survey About the Use of Bacterial Inoculants in Brazil: Effects on Silage Quality and Animal Performance

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64472

5

Initially, the small interest on the topic in the last century in Brazil likely reflected questions about the cost of those inoculants and their effectiveness as in other countries [10], although these are questions that are debated very often. The inconsistent results obtained from early studies carried out in Europe and North America due to low rates of inoculation and questionable viabilities of the bacteria [9], also likely contributed to the initial small interest. Conversely, advances in molecular biology associated with positive responses found across the world may have moved the crescent interest from Brazilian researchers to study bacterial inoculants for silage production. Moreover, the increasing number of techniques used to produce more viable and stable bacteria, and the additional tools developed to access the effects of silage inoculants, may also be part of the reason for the increased interest. Indeed, poor silage management has led to the production of silages of low nutritional value and undesirable sanitary aspects under tropical conditions. Surely, sugarcane and tropical grass silages are still the crops most susceptible to problems that occur during fermentation due to the action of undesirable microorganisms. Thus, these crops comprised 58.1% of all studies

**Figure 2.** Number of Brazilian studies published regarding the utilization of silage inoculants by crop. \*HMC, high-

evaluated regarding the use of bacterial inoculants (**Figure 2**).

moisture corn; HMS, high-moisture sorghum.

number of articles accessed = 178).

Therefore, our objective was to conduct a survey on the use of bacterial inoculants in Brazil and understand how they affect ensiling processes and animal performance. Here, we highlight that the present survey had an exploratory focus and, because of this, we conducted only a descriptive analysis of the data found in the accessed studies throughout of this text.
