Research - Ultra Low Volume (ULV)
Ultra Low Volume Application
ECOSYL Products have developed a system where very low volumes of silage inoculant can be applied with the same level of additive distribution in the crop as standard application at 1.5-3.0 litres per tonne
Ever increasing size and throughputs of self-propelled harvesters has challenged the high water requirements of standard inoculant formulations and applicators, creating a demand for precision systems offering fast operation and minimal downtime. This really means applying a silage inoculant at very low volumes (10 – 20 mls per te) and ensuring good mixing with the crop.
A Novel Formulation
ECOSYL Products scientists had to be able to provide a novel formulation that was much more concentrated than the equivalent standard application product and still ensure the bacteria would remain alive. Achieving a product able to rehydrate and remain in suspension at bacterial concentrations as high as 50 billion bacteria⁄ml (50,000,000,000⁄ml) without loss of viability due to osmotic shock is no mean feat, yet that is what they accomplished – ECOSYL ULV
ECOSYL ULV can be applied at just 20ml per tonne and is believed to be the only ultra low volume inoculant on the market delivering a full one million bacteria per gram of forage. It has a two-day tank-mix life at ambient temperature and an additional ten days in a refrigerator, allowing extended storage during downtime periods such as in bad weather.
A Novel Application System
In order to ensure ECOSYL ULV is applied effectively a specific ULV applicator, the ECOSYLER, has also been developed. The new system draws on aspects of both agrochemical and medical technology for precision delivery of droplets of inoculant into the up-draft of forage harvesters. Self-propelled machines can create up to 150 miles per hour airflow in the silage chute. Delivering relatively large droplets, slowly into this updraft, ensures all the inoculant is reaching the crop and is atomised by the airflow to give thorough distribution.
Proof from Germany
The ECOSYLER applicator applies ECOSYL ULV at 10 to 20 ml⁄t and has been proven to be just as effective as a conventional applicator applying ECOSYL 66 at 1.5 litres⁄t.
Research conducted by ECOSYL and FAL, the Federal Agricultural Research Institute in Germany, focused on the need for a robust, precise and reliable ULV application system capable of distributing highly concentrated bacteria evenly throughout the crop.
Results of 14 comparative trials presented by Dr Terry Owen in a joint paper to the 2005 International Silage Conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland, showed the newly developed ECOSYLER system to be highly effective.
The results showed no significant difference in the distribution of the inoculant bacteria or the subsequent silage fermentations, both showing significant improvements over the untreated control with lower pH, higher lactic acid, lower acetic and butyric acid, less protein breakdown (lower ammonia) and reduced in-silo dry matter losses.
