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The results of adding Lactobacillus buchneri to silages from 43 experiments in 23 sources reporting standard errors were summarized using meta-analysis. The effects of inoculation were summarized by type of crop (corn or grass and small grains) and the treatments were classified into the following categories: 1) untreated silage with nothing applied (LB0), 2) silage treated with L. buchneri at ≤100,000 cfu/g of fresh forage (LB1), and 3) silage treated with L. buchneri at>100,000 cfu/g (LB2). In both types of crops, inoculation with L. buchneri decreased concentrations of lactic acid, and this response was dose-dependent in corn but not in grass and small-grain silages. Treatment with L. buchneri markedly increased the concentrations of acetic acid in both crops in a dose-dependent manner. The numbers of yeasts were lower in silages treated with LB1 and further decreased in silages treated with LB2 compared with untreated silages. Untreated corn silage spoiled after 25h of exposure to air but corn silage treated with LB1 did not spoil until 35h, and this stability was further enhanced to 503h with LB2. In grass and small-grain silages, yeasts were nearly undetectable; however, inoculation improved aerobic stability in a dose-dependent manner (206, 226, and 245h for LB0, LB1, and LB2, respectively). The recovery of DM after ensiling was lower for LB2 (94.5%) when compared with LB0 (95.5%) in corn silage and was lower for both LB1 (94.8%) and LB2 (95.3%) when compared with LB0 (96.6%) in grass and small-grain silages.

Background The strategic delay of aerobic deterioration in Sesbania cannabina and corn (SC) mixed silage, coupled with effective fermentation, could increase the protein-rich silage utilization by ruminants. Thus, we sought to investigate the role of a compound lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculant ( Lactobacillus plantarum  +  Lactobacillus farciminis  +  Lactobacillus buchneri  +  Lactobacillus hilgardii ; at a level of 10 6  CFU/g fresh weight) in enhancing the aerobic stability of SC mixed silage. Specifically, we focused on the potential for corn supplementation to improve fermentation quality while concurrently increasing the susceptibility of SC mixed silage to aerobic spoilage. Results Results revealed that compound LAB additive diversified the microbial community of SC mixed silage, making Lactobacillus hilgardii and Lactobacillus buchneri dominant bacterial species, while decreasing the abundance of Kazachstania humilis fungal specie. As a result, the LAB-treated mixed silages had higher acetic acid contents and lower yeast populations. Aerobic stability analysis revealed that the SC mixed silages with a high corn proportion deteriorated rapidly when the silages were exposed to air. The high aerobic stability of the LAB-treated mixed silages especially S7C3 contrasted with the low acetic acid concentrations in the CK mixed silages (processed with sterilized water), concomitant with increased Kazachstania humili s abundance. Conclusion Our study revealed that inoculation with a compound LAB additive altered the consequences of aerobic exposure by increasing acetic acid production after ensiling, promoting diverse bacterial populations, and mitigating the negative effects of fungi on the aerobic stability of SC mixed silage.

The aim of the experiment was to evaluate the potential of promising summer maize genotypes and optimal stage of harvesting these genotypes for ensiling in terms of dry matter (DM), starch, and crude protein (CP) yields, silage fermentation quality, nutrients profile, total digestible nutrients, metabolizable energy (ME) content, Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) carbohydrate (CHO) subfractions composition, in vitro DM digestibility (DMD) and in situ starch degradation characteristics. Six maize genotypes were chosen for the study: DK9108 from Monsanto, P30Y87, P3939 from Pioneer, QPM-300 (quality protein maize) and W94 from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and a local cultivar, Afgoii, from the Cereal Research Institute (Persabaq, KP). A total of 72 plots (8 m × 10 m) were blocked in three replicate fields, and within each field, each genotype was sown in four replicate plots according to a randomized complete block design. For the data analysis, the Proc-Mixed procedure of Statistical Analysis System with repeated measure analysis of variance was used. The DM yield was strongly influenced ( P  < 0.001) by maize genotypes, varying from 12.6 to 17.0 tons/ha. Except for total CHO and ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N), the contents of all measured chemical components varied ( P  < 0.001) among the genotypes. Further comparison revealed that, genotype P3939 had a higher ( P  < 0.05) content of CP (7.27 vs. 6.92%), starch (36.7 vs. 27.9%), DMD (65.4 vs. 60.0%), ME (2.51 vs. 2.30 Mcal/kg) and lactic acid (5.32 vs. 4.83%) and lowest content of NDF (37.3 vs. 43.1%), pH (3.7 vs. 4.10) compared to the local cultivar (Afgoii). Advancement of post-flowering maturity from 25 to 35% DM (23 to 41 days after flowering (DAF)) increased ( P  < 0.05) the DM yield (10.4 to 17.8 tons/ha), starch content (29.1 to 35.0%), DMD (65.3 to 67.3%) and ME (2.34 to 2.47 Mcal/kg), and decreased ( P  < 0.001) the contents of CP (7.42–6.73%), NDF (48.8–38.5%), pH (4.10 to 3.60), NH 3 -N (8.93–7.80%N) and effective degradability of starch (95.4 to 89.4). Results showed that for higher yields and silage nutritional and fermentation quality, maize crops should be harvested at whole crop DM content of 30–35% (34 to 41 DAF). It was further concluded that genotype P3939 is the most suitable summer maize genotype for silage production in terms of yields and silage nutritional and fermentation quality under the hot environmental conditions of the tropics.

Microbial population dynamics associated with corn silage, with and without Lactobacillus plantarum treatment, was studied. Whole crop corn was ensiled using laboratory silos and sampled at different times, up to 3 months. The dominant bacteria, before ensiling, were Acinetobacter (38.5%) and Klebsiella (16.3%), while the dominant fungi were Meyerozyma (53.5%) and Candida (27.7%). During ensiling, the microbial population shifted considerably, and Lactobacillus (> 94%) and Candida (> 74%) became the most dominant microbial genera in both treated and untreated silages. Yet, lactic acid content was higher in the treated silage, while the microbial diversity was lower than in the untreated silage. Upon aerobic exposure, spoilage occurred more rapidly in the treated silage, possibly due to the higher abundance of lactic acid-assimilating fungi, such as Candida. Our study is the first to describe microbial population dynamics during whole-crop corn ensiling and the results indicate that microbial diversity may be an indicator of aerobic stability.

The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the nutritional composition, dry matter (DM) recovery and aerobic stability of winter cereal silages under different storage periods. The materials used were wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. BRS Gralha Azul), barley (Hordeum vulgare cv. BRS Brau), white oat (Avena sativa cv. URS Guara), black oat (Avena strigosa cv. Embrapa 139) and triticale (X Triticosecale IPR 11), in three storage periods: 60, 120 and 180 days. The experiment was conducted in a 5x3 factorial, completely randomized design, consisting of five forage species and three storage periods, with five replicates. In nutritional assessment, barley silage presented low values of acid detergent fiber (ADF; 331.2, 355.2 and 378.5 g kg [DM.sup.-1] for 60, 120, 180 days, respectively), high total digestible nutrients (TDN; 558.2, 544.7 and 531.6 g kg [DM.sup.-1] for 60, 120, 180 days, respectively), high DM recovery and aerobic stability. Wheat and triticale showed a decrease in DM recovery with the increase in storage length, although showed high aerobic stability. The storage period had a different effect on forages; however, storage period above 60 days provided no benefits for the variables evaluated. Keywords: storage, aerobic deterioration, DM recovery. O objetivo do experimento foi avaliar a composicao nutricional, a recuperacao de materia seca (MS) e a estabilidade aerobia de silagens de cereais de inverno submetidas a diferentes tempos de estocagem. Os materiais utilizados foram o trigo (Triticum aestivum cv. BRS Gralha Azul), cevada (Hordeum vulgare cv. BRS Brau), aveia branca (Avena sativa cv. URS Guara), aveia preta (Avena strigosa cv. Embrapa 139) e triticale (X Triticosecale cv. IPR 11), em tres tempos de estocagem: 60, 120 e 180 dias. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado em arranjo fatorial 5x3. Na avaliacao nutricional, a silagem de cevada apresentou baixos teores de fibra em detergente acido (FDA; 331; 355 e 378 g kg [MS.sup.-1], para 60, 120 e 180 dias, respectivamente) e altos de nutrientes digestiveis totais (NDT; 558; 544 e 531 g kg [MS.sup.-1] para 60, 120 e 180 dias, respectivamente), alem de alta recuperacao de MS e estabilidade aerobia. O trigo e o triticale apresentaram decrescimo na recuperacao de MS com o aumento dos dias de estocagem, embora tenham apresentado alta estabilidade aerobia. O tempo de estocagem influenciou de maneira distinta as forrageiras, no entanto, tempos de estocagem acima de 60 dias nao proporcionaram beneficios para as variaveis avaliadas. Palavras-chave: armazenamento, deterioracao aerobia, recuperacao de MS.

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of inoculation of whole crop corn silage with a mixture of heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) composed of Lactobacillus hilgardii and Lactobacillus buchneri on ensiling, aerobic stability, ruminal fermentation, total tract nutrient digestibility, and growth performance of beef cattle. Uninoculated control corn silage (CON) and silage inoculated with 3.0 × 105 cfu g−1 of LAB containing 1.5 × 105 cfu g−1 of L. hilgardii CNCM I-4785 and 1.5 × 105 cfu g−1 of L. buchneri NCIMB 40788 (INOC) were ensiled in silo bags. The pH did not differ (P > 0.05) between the two silages during ensiling but was greater (P < 0.001) for CON than INOC after 14 d of aerobic exposure (AE). Neutral detergent insoluble crude protein (NDICP) content (% of DM and % of CP basis) of terminal INOC silage was greater (P ≤ 0.05) than that of CON. In terminal silage, concentrations of total VFA and acetate were greater (P < 0.001), while water-soluble carbohydrates were lower (P < 0.001) for INOC than CON. Yeast and mold counts were lower for INOC than CON (P ≤ 0.001) in both terminal and aerobically exposed silages. The stability of INOC was greater (P < 0.001) than that of CON after 14 d of AE. Ruminal fermentation parameters and DMI did not differ (P > 0.05) between heifers fed the two silages, while there was a tendency (P ≤ 0.07) for lower CP and starch digestibility for heifers fed INOC than CON. Total nitrogen (N) intake and N retention were lower (P ≤ 0.04) for heifers fed INOC than CON. Dry matter intake as a percentage of BW was lower (P < 0.04) and there was a tendency for improved feed efficieny (G:F; P = 0.07) in steers fed INOC vs. CON silage. The NEm and NEg contents were greater for INOC than CON diets. Results indicate that inoculation with a mixture of L. hilgardii and L. buchneri improved the aerobic stability of corn silage. Improvements in G:F of growing steers fed INOC silage even though the total tract digestibility of CP and starch tended to be lower for heifers fed INOC are likely because the difference in BW and growth requirements of these animals impacted the growth performance and nutrient utilization and a greater proportion of NDICP in INOC than CON.

Whole-plant corn was harvested at 33 (normal) and 41% (moderately high) dry matter (DM) and ensiled in quadruplicate 20-L laboratory silos to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 (LB) or L. plantarum MTD-1 (LP) alone, or in combination, on the fermentation and aerobic stability of the resulting silage. Aerobic stability was defined as the amount of time after exposure to air for the silage temperature to reach 2°C above ambient temperature. The chopped forage was used in a 2×2×2 factorial arrangement of treatments: normal and moderately high DM contents, LB at 0 (untreated) or 4×105 cfu/g of fresh forage, and LP at 0 or 1×105 cfu/g. After 240 d of ensiling, corn silage harvested at the moderately high DM had higher pH, higher concentrations of ethanol, and more yeasts compared with the silage ensiled at the normal DM content. Inoculation with LB did not affect the concentration of lactic acid in silages with a moderately high DM, but decreased the concentration of lactic acid in the silage with normal DM. Higher concentrations of acetic acid were found in the silage treated with LB compared with those not treated with this organism. Inoculation with LP increased the concentration of lactic acid only in the silage with the normal DM content. The concentration of acetic acid was lower in silage treated with LP with a moderately high DM content, but greater in the silage treated with LP with the normal DM content when compared with silages without this inoculant. Appreciable amounts of 1,2-propanediol (average 1.65%, DM basis) were found in all silages treated with LB regardless of the DM content. The addition of L. buchneri increased the concentration of NH3-N in silages but the addition of L. plantarum decreased it. Aerobic stability was improved in all silages treated with LB, with greater aerobic stability occurring in the silage with moderately high DM compared with silage with normal DM content. Inoculation with LP had no effect on aerobic stability. There were no interactions between L. buchneri and L. plantarum for most fermentation products or aerobic stability of the silages. This study showed that inoculating whole-plant corn with L. buchneri 40788 or L. plantarum MTD-1 has different beneficial effects on the resulting silage. There appear to be no major interactions between these organisms when added together to forage. Thus, there is potential to add both organisms simultaneously to improve the fermentation and aerobic stability of corn silage.

At present, there are many researches on the nutritional quality and fermentation quality of forage silage by adding distillers’ grain and fruit residue, but few researches on the succession and function prediction of microbiotic community. In this study, the potential of Moutai distillers' grain (MDG), Rosa roxburghii pomace (RP) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (LAB) to improve silage quality during anaerobic storage of alfalfa and sorghum was investigated. Harvested alfalfa and sorghum were ensiled without (CK) or with MDG, RP, LAB, LAB + MDG or LAB + RP for 45 days at 21–25 °C. Compared with the uninoculated control, alfalfa silage inoculated with LAB + MDG presented better nutrient retention, where the lactic acid (LA) content was increased by 84.62% and the ammonia nitrogen (AN) content was reduced by 38.52%. Similarly, in sorghum silage, both inoculation with LAB + MDG and inoculation with LAB + RP effectively increased nutrient retention, increased the LA content and reduced the AN content. The proportion of Lactobacillus increased in sorghum and alfalfa silage after 45 days of fermentation. Inoculation of alfalfa and sorghum with RP or LAB + MDG significantly increased the relative abundance of lactic acid bacteria in silage, especially Lactobacillus plantarum , which was the main dominant strain. The addition of MDG to the feeds not only effectively retained the crude protein (CP) content of the feeds for better retention of their nutritional value but also significantly reduced the contents of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF), which improved the digestibility and utilization of the feeds. In addition, the addition of MDG further promoted the proliferation of Lactobacillus and increased their abundance in the silage, thus contributing to the improvement of fermentation quality and preservation of silage. In summary, MDG, LAB + MDG, and RP + LAB resulted in higher-quality silage, but the addition of MDG was more cost effective and therefore is recommended for application in production.

Background Optimizing the silage processing technology for mulberry is essential to improve the utilization efficiency of this feed resource. This study investigated the effects of a wilting pretreatment and silage additives on fermentation dynamics, microbial community structure, metabolites, and in situ ruminal degradation characteristics of whole-plant mulberry silage. A 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with two conditions (62% vs. 73% moisture content) and three silage additives (control, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LP), and organic acids (OA)) was applied in a completely randomized design with 6 replications. All samples were ensiled for 60 days before analysis. Results The wilting procedure increased lactic acid and crude protein (CP) contents while lowering pH ( P  < 0.05). Both OA and LP additive treatments reduced pH and increased CP content in mulberry silage ( P  < 0.05). The LP treatment specifically reduced ammonia nitrogen and pH and improved lactic acid content ( P  < 0.05). The interaction between wilting and additive led to decreases in acetic acid and neutral detergent fiber contents ( P  < 0.05). 16S rRNA sequence revealed that LP inoculation enriched the relative abundance of Lactiplantibacillus while suppressing that of Enterococcus ( P  < 0.05). Lactiplantibacillus abundance was positively correlated with contents of lactic acid, CP, and beneficial metabolites L-arginine and salicin ( P  < 0.05). These two differential metabolites were enriched in phosphotransferase system and arginine biosynthesis pathways ( P  < 0.05). The in situ ruminal study further confirmed that wilting improved DM digestibility while reducing methane and ammonia nitrogen concentration. The LP treatment also reduced ruminal ammonia nitrogen level ( P  < 0.05). Conclusion The combined application of a wilting pretreatment and LP inoculant presents a validated and effective approach to comprehensively improve the fermentation quality and nutritive value of mulberry silage.

Foliar fungal diseases lead to a significant reduction in dry matter of plants, thereby negatively affecting silage fermentation kinetics. This study investigated the effects of leaf blight on ensiling kinetics, microbial succession, and nitrogen metabolism in whole-crop maize, and further examined whether inoculation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HT1 could mitigate disease-induced proteolysis through remodeling of the metabolic pathways. Three treatments were established: (i) healthy maize silage (CON), (ii) maize silage affected by leaf blight (DCON), and (iii) maize silage affected by leaf blight and inoculated with L. plantarum HT1 (HT1, 1 × 10 5 cfu/g FM based on the fresh weight basis). Samples of 300 g fresh material were packed into polyethylene vacuum bags (300 × 400 × 0.2 mm) and vacuum-sealed to establish anaerobic conditions for 60 days of ensiling. Before ensiling, DCON had significantly lower crude protein content (7.06% vs. 8.91% DM, P  = 0.001) compared with CON. In addition, the WSC content markedly decreased by leaf blight (88.7 vs. 119 g/kg DM, P  = 0.016). LAB abundance was significantly lower (3.22 vs. 4.22 log10 CFU/g FM, P  = 0.022), whereas mold counts sharply increased (4.25 vs. 3.22 log10 CFU/g FM, P  = 0.001) in DCON than in CON. The DCON showed elevated pH, significantly reduced lactic acid content, and markedly increased butyric acid content compared with those of the CON ( P  < 0.05). DCON had the highest NH 3 –N content (17.2 g/kg TN), exceeding those of CON (12.3 g/kg TN) and HT1 (10.3 g/kg TN, P  = 0.005). Aminopeptidase and carboxypeptidase activities increased to 46.4 and 167 U·h − 1 ·g FM − 1 , respectively, which were much higher than those of the CON (27.4 and 140 U·h − 1 ·g FM − 1 ). Microbiome β-diversity separated DCON from CON and HT1, with enrichment of putative proteolytic taxa. Metabolomics indicated upregulated amino acid degradation (branched chain and glutamate pathways) and disrupted nitrogen homeostasis in the DCON treatment. Leaf blight created an early high-pH window that amplified proteolysis and nitrogen loss through coordinated shifts in substrates, microbiota, and amino acid catabolism. Inoculation with L. plantarum HT1 caused rapid acidification, curtailed proteolysis, and rewired metabolic and community networks toward a healthy state, achieving coordinated restoration of fermentation quality and protein preservation in disease-challenged maize.