Mechanical and chemical dehydration for pre-drying of black oat silage

This study aimed to evaluate mechanical and chemical methods of forage dehydration in the production of black oat pre-dried silage (Avena strigosa Schreb) under different dehydration times. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block experimental design with five replications and arranged in a 2 x 6 factorial scheme. We assessed two methods of dehydration, mechanical and chemical, over six dewatering times, being made at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 days after cutting or application of glyphosate. Harvest took place at 88 days after emergence, at pre-flowering. We evaluated dry biomass production at harvest, dry matter losses during dehydration in the field, losses during ensiling, gauging effluent output, and pre-dried silage chemical composition. There was an interaction between dehydration method and harvest time for most of the production characteristics. Chemical dehydration showed an enhanced dry matter recovery at the field level, however, unsuitable for pre-dried silage. The longer the dehydration period, the lower the losses for both analyzed methods; nevertheless, the chemical method reached unsatisfactory DM contents to produce good quality silage.