Review on quality evaluating index system and measuring methods for alfalfa silage

Alfalfa silage technology has became a hotspot in alfalfa research and the improvement and standardization of quality evaluating index system and measuring methods for alfalfa silage directly affected the alfalfa silage quality, so it was urgently necessary to establish the suitable evaluating standards for alfalfa silage. The current standards for alfalfa silage are from those for common silage and they are not suitable for alfalfa silage because of the its specific features and newly developed measuring methods. By analyzing the different evaluating standards and measuring methods, VScore and Kaiser were suitable for alfalfa silage, but the evaluating index was not enough, the indices including pH value, ammonium nitrogen and lactic acid should be covered in order to improve the evaluation. The ammonium nitrogen could be assayed by spectrophotometer and for organic acid, methods of HPLC and Ion Chromatograph are better.