Interaction effect of silo density and additives on the fermentation quality, microbial counts, chemical composition and in vitro degradability of rice straw silage.

This research evaluated the effect of molasses (M), cellulosic enzymes (E) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) alone or in combination (M + LAB and E + LAB) on the fermentation quality, microbial counts, chemical composition and in vitro degradability of rice straw silages in different silo densities (200, 300, 400 and 500 kg/m3). The M or E groups alone increased the dry matter (DM) losses at low silo densities. Acetic acid produced by LAB-related groups significantly inhibited yeast and mould at the silo density of 300 kg/m3. Under high silo densities (>400 kg/m3), LAB-related additives significantly improved the fermentation quality and reduced the DM losses. The use of E + LAB further improved the in vitro degradability of rice straw silages at high silo densities. In conclusion, higher silo density and appropriate complex additives were of great significance to improve the quality of rice straw silage.

Effects of mixing red clover with alfalfa at different ratios on dynamics of proteolysis and protease activities during ensiling.

This study was conducted to study the effects of ensiled alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and red clover (Trifolium pratense) at different ratios on dynamics of fermentation parameters, N distribution, protein fractions, and protease activities during ensiling. Alfalfa and red clover were harvested and wilted to 35 and 25% dry matter, respectively, chopped to 1 cm, mixed, weighed into 1.0-L buckets at a density of 700 g/L, and ensiled for 1, 3, 7, 15, and 30 d at 30°C. The treatments were mixing ratio of alfalfa to red clover at 100:0, 70:30, 50:50, 30:70, and 0:100 (R0, R30, R50, R70, and R100, respectively; fresh weight). For each ensiling duration, 3 replicates of each treatment were prepared. With increasing proportion of red clover in silage, total N content and proportions of nonprotein N, peptide N, free amino acid N, and NH3-N decreased linearly, and PC (indigestible true protein, acid detergent insoluble N) proportion increased linearly after ensiling. Moreover, the final pH was lower in R50 and R100 than R0 (4.29, 4.20 vs. 4.48, respectively) on d 30. Also, lactic acid concentration on d 30 was higher in R50, R70, and R100 silage compared with R0 (7.77, 7.66, and 8.76 vs. 6.34, % of dry matter, respectively). The proportion of NH3-N in R50 was lower than in R0 but closer to R100 after ensiling. During ensiling, proteases including carboxypeptidase, aminopeptidase, and acid proteinase activities decreased as red clover proportion increased. However, no differences were detected in aminopeptidase and acid proteinase activities among R50, R70, and R100 during ensiling. Overall, 50:50 was the optimal mixing ratio of alfalfa with red clover, showing good fermentation quality with lower pH and higher lactic acid concentration, reduced protease activities and proteolysis compared with pure alfalfa silage, and also more total N content than pure red clover silage.

Effects of inoculants and environmental temperature on fermentation quality and bacterial diversity of alfalfa silage.

To investigate the effects of inoculants and environmental temperature on fermentation quality and bacterial diversity of alfalfa silage, first-cut alfalfa was ensiled with or without two screened lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains, Lactobacillus plantarum, LP, and Lactobacillus casei, LC. Each treatment was divided into three parts and stored at 20°C, 30°C, 40°C, respectively. After 60 days ensiling, fermentation characteristics were measured and bacterial diversity was investigated by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing using Illumina MiSeq platform. LP and LC decreased pH, coliform bacteria counts and increased lactic acid content at 20°C, and the two strains decreased pH, ammonia-N concentration, coliform bacteria counts at 30°C. When the environmental temperature was 40°C, silage treated with LC showed lower LAB and coliform bacteria counts and higher lactic acid content than the untreated and LP treated silages. Butyric acid mainly appeared in silages stored at 40°C. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus in alfalfa silages stored at 20°C and 30°C was highest and increased after LP and LC were added. Garciella was another dominant genus in silages stored at 40°C. In conclusion, LP and LC improved fermentation quality of alfalfa silage by increasing Lactobacillus proportions at 20°C and 30°C; ensiling alfalfa at 40°C was difficult because of Garciella.

Interactive effect of inoculant and dried jujube powder on the fermentation quality and nitrogen fraction of alfalfa silage.

The interactive effect of inoculants and dried jujube powder (DJP) on the fermentation and nitrogen fraction (PA, PB1, PB2, PB3 and PC fractions) of alfalfa silage was investigated. Three of the Lactobacillus plantarum inoculants (LP1, LP2 or LP3) were used. The DJP was added at rates of 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 or 15% of the whole fresh forage. The combination of DJP and inoculants decreased the pH value and ammonia nitrogen content and increased the PC portion. As the DJP ratio increased, there was a peak in lactic acid : acetic acid ratio (12% of DJP ratio) and PB2 fraction (9% of DJP ratio) while the PA content decreased linearly. The LP1 and LP2 had the highest lactic acid content. Inoculants decreased the PB1 portion of true protein. The LP1 treated silage had the highest acetic acid content with the lowest lactic acid : acetic acid ratio and had lower PB3 and PC and higher PB2 than LP2 or LP3 treated silages. The result showed that the application of DJP or inoculants have positive effect on the fermentation, nutrition and N fraction value in the high moisture alfalfa silages, and the combination of DJP and inoculants preserves best.