## 3 Results and Discussion
### Effect of Additive on Silage Characteristics
However, there were no significant differences (\(p<0.05\)) in the pH of the silages after 370 days of ensiling, although the concentration of lactic acid was significantly different among all silages (Table 2), probably because of the high buffering capacity of SBL [35]. Generally, lactic acid concentration increased with ensiling duration in all silages, an indication that more WSC may have been made available from the biological degradation of hemicellulose [9] due to accumulation of organic acids. Some authors [40,41] have reported a decrease in lactic acid concentration in silages during prolonged ensiling. However, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [42] have shown that process variables such as temperature can affect the dynamics of fermentation products. Since the concentration of lactic acid was not determined within an interval of 250 days (between day 120 and 370), a conclusion on the dynamics of lactic acid concentration (and concentration of other fermentation products) in this study cannot be made. CTL silage had the lowest concentration of acetic acid after ensiling (Table 2). From 30 to 120 days, acetic acid was highest in A50:1 silage, followed by C500:1 silage, but it significantly increased in all silages (\(p<0.05\)) on day 370. Treatment, ensiling duration, and their interactions significantly affected the concentration of acetic acid after 370 days. A higher concentration of acetic acid indicates a potential for prolonged stability of the silage upon air exposure [35]. All silages had a lactic to acetic acid (LA/AA) ratio greater than 1.0, an indication that there was no abnormal fermentation in the systems [35]. Treated silages had a lower LA/AA ratio than CTL silage. Although there are reports that the quality of good silages increases with an increase in LA/AA ratio [43], it appears that this condition is only important if the silage is to be used as animal feed. Forage-sorghum mixture silages with lower LA/AA values of 2.46 were reported to produce higher methane yields than silages with higher LA/AA values of 12.70 [44]. [PERSON] et al. [45] also reported a higher methane yield in a mixed silage of elodea and wheat straw with lower LA/AA ratio compared to silages with higher LA/AA ratios. Ethanol was the most abundant alcohol present in all the silages, as is common in most silages, usually a consequence of yeast activity [35]. From 90 to 370 days, concentrations of ethanol were lower in A50:1 and B150:1 silages compared to CTL and C500:1 silages, indicating that the additive inhibited yeast activity in A50:1 and B150:1 silages but not in the C500:1 silage, which may mean that the additive can inhibit yeast activity at a higher dosage, while at a lower dosage, yeast activity can be enhanced. [PERSON] et al. [46] and [PERSON] et al. [47] have also reported a reduction in the amount of yeast when additive was added during the ensiling of corn stalk and oat. The total fermentation product (TFP) content of the silages were significantly affected by treatment, ensiling duration, and their interactions after 370 days, with the lowest and highest being in CTL and A50:1 silages, respectively. Silages with higher TFP had higher %VS losses, an indication that the formation of fermentation products could have been responsible for the VS losses.