[Control of the fermentation activity during ensilage of Lolium italicum A. Br. and Medicago sativa L]. / Controllo dell'attivita' fermentativa durante l'insilamento di Lolium italicum A. Br. e Medicago sativa L.

Samples with different dry matter contents of Lolium italicum A. Br., Medicago sativa L., have been ensiled in hermetically sealed containers, in order to study the evolution of microflora and its activity. The principal microbial groups (coliforms, proteolytics , lactic acid bacteria, clostridia, yeasts) have been detected and enumerated, in anaerobic atmosphere, after ensiling periods of 3, 6, 10, 13, 20, 100 days. At the same time, the samples were chemically analyzed for the detection of: pH, moisture, ashes, total and ammoniacal nitrogen, total reducing sugars, lactic acid, volatile fatty acids, short chain alcohols. The relations found between chemical and microbiological data, show that a strong lactic fermentation is not enough for the inhibition of silage spoiling microorganisms, such as coliforms, yeasts, and (less) proteolytics . This phenomenon may be related to the "quality" of the lactic acid microflora, more than to the characteristics of the environment.

[Evolution of microflora during the conservation of forage in microsilos]. / Evoluzione della microflora durante la conservazione di foraggere in microsili.

Fresh and wilted samples of Lolium italicum A. Br., Dactylis glomerata L., Medicago sativa L., have been ensiled in laboratory microsilos for the study of microflora evolution. The principal microbial groups (coliforms, proteolytic bacteria, clostridia, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts) have been detected and enumerated, in anaerobic atmosphere, after 8, 15, 22, 29, 36, 180 days of ensiling. Although the number of lactic acid bacteria resulted to the high in all the samples studied, they failed to perform a quick pH decrease and silage spoiling bacteria were not inhibited. This suggests the possibility of a cohabitation between useful and noxious bacteria, not affected by the chemical composition of ensiled plants.

[Effect of biological activation on the evolution of microflora during composting of urban waste]. / Effetto dell'attivazione biologica sull'evoluzione della microflora durante il compostaggio di rifiuti urbani.

In two solid urban wastes piles, one treated with 7.5% of good bovine manure, the other used as a test, the evolution of the microflora has been studied, during the first period of biodegradation and at the end of the maturation process, in order to control if bioactivation can positively affect the biodegradation development. Actinomytcetes and fungi have been examined, and the following functional microbial groups: aerobic nitrogen fixing bacteria, ammonia bacteria, proteolytics, nitrosants, nitricants, aerobic cellulolytics, amilolytics, pectinolytics. During the process, no significant quantitative difference between the microflora of the two piles was found, except for aerobic cellulolytic, which were strongly superior in number in the end product from the bioactivated pile.