silage

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silage

silage or ensilage , succulent, moist feed made by storing a green crop in a silo . The crop most used for silage is corn; others are sorghum, sunflowers, legumes, and grass. In a sealed silo, typically in the past a tall cylindrical structure but often today in a surface pile covered tightly with heavy-gauge plastic, the crop ferments for about one month. This fermentation process, called ensiling, produces acids and consumes the oxygen in the silo, preserving the plant material. In pit ensiling, compacted silage ferments in an unsealed underground enclosure. Silage replaces or supplements hay for cattle, horses, and sheep. It is rich in carotene, an important source of vitamin A. A machine called an ensilage harvester cuts and chops the crop in one operation, preparing it for storage in the silo.

Bibliography: See publications of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

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silage

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Â© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

silage ensilage. XIX. Alt. of ENSILAGE, after SILO.

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T. F. HOAD. "silage." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "silage." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (December 27, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-silage.html

T. F. HOAD. "silage." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved December 27, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-silage.html

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	New strain slows silage spoilage. (Lactobacillus buchneri) Magazine article from: Agricultural Research; 6/1/1995
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