Effects of compaction and maturity stages on sunflower silage quality

The aim of this research was to determine sunflower silage quality under different compaction conditions of the whole-plant sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) harvested at three different maturity stages. These were the beginning of Anthesis, one-third Milk Line, and Black Line. Five compaction applications (control, vacuum and compaction with 150, 248 and 498 kPa) were carried out in the study. For this purpose, cylindrical plastic mini-silos (5.2 L) were used. The chopped forages were compacted in mini-silos at five pressure levels. Each treatment was ensiled for 50 days in cylindrical plastic mini-silos (5.2 L) silos with three replications. This study showed that compaction level and maturity stage had significant effects on silage quality (p < 0.05). The dry-matter content increased in the silages with maturity. The best results were observed when harvesting at the stage of one-third Milk Line and compaction with the level 498 kPa.