Study on the fungal contamination of silage fodder and feed additives

Abstract

Contamination of feed with fungi is favored by the existence of optimal environmental conditions for their development, with negative consequences on production and animal health and more. For these reasons, in the present study we proposed to carry out mycological investigations on feed samples from a farm in the area of Moldova, with the aim of determining the degree of fungal contamination. Among the objectives were the determination of the number of filamentous micromycetes, the identification of the dominant mycotic flora in the plant substrates, the highlighting of colonies and the mycotic characterization of the strains of filamentous micromycetes. The mycological screening was performed on four categories of samples, namely: alfalfa hay, corn silage, mixed fodder ration, mixed feed premix, samples that were randomly analyzed from the farm and 15 determinations were made of each, in order to establishing the fungal load during 2022. The dominant fungal flora of silage fodder and feed additives belongs to the genera Penicillium (25%), fam. Mucoraceae (21.6%), Aspergillus (15%) and Fusarium (11.6%) which obtained the highest levels of contamination.