Drying of macerated lucerne hay in Australia

摘要

The effect of maceration on drying time in lucerne grown in southeast Queensland was compared with that of unconditioned and standard roll-conditioned hay in two experiments. Two laboratory macerators, one with steel rolls and the other with rubberised rolls, were used to macerate hay samples. In both experiments, macerated hay reached safe storage moisture contents significantly earlier than unconditioned or standard roll-conditioned hay. In Experiment 1, safe moisture content of both maceration treatments was reached in 6-7 h of field drying due to ideal weather conditions. However, in Experiment 2, in which safe moisture content was not reached until after 26 h of field drying, the drying rate for hay macerated with rubberized rolls was significantly faster than for steel rolls Thus, maceration with rubberised rolls decreased drying time under more normal summer conditions due to greater maceration, thus reducing the risk of losses due to rainfall. The production of high quality hay in southeastQueensland would be enhanced by adopting maceration by rubberised rolls.