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Significant anaerobic fermentation occurs in silage through the action of anaerobic bacteria. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of cellulase and Lactobacillus plantarum on the fermentation quality and bacterial community of whole-plant corn and peanut vine mixed silage. Mixed silage was tested with no addition (CK), addition of Lactobacillus plantarum (LP), addition of cellulase (CE), and the simultaneous addition of Lactobacillus plantarum and cellulase (LPCE). LPCE samples exhibited decreased pH; decreased content of acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid; and increased content of lactic acid. LP and LPCE had better effects on chemical composition than CK and CE, especially in decreasing acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber content. High-throughput sequencing identified Lactobacillus, Klebsiella, Serratia, and Weissella as the main microorganisms. LP and CE increased the abundance of Acetobacter, and LPCE decreased the abundance of Acetobacter. All additives decreased the abundance of Weissella, Leuconostoc, and Lactococcus, and increased the abundance of Pantoea. Overall, simultaneous addition of cellulase and Lactobacillus plantarum helped to improve the quality of mixed silage of whole-plant corn and peanut vines., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Forage preservation for livestock feeding is usually done by drying the plant material and storing it as hay or ensiling it into silage. During the ensiling process, the pH in the system is lowered by the activities of lactic acid-producing bacteria (LAB), inhibiting the growth of spoilage microorganisms and maintaining the quality of the ensiled product. To improve this process, inoculation of LAB could be used as starter cultures to shorten the ensiling time and control the fermentation process. Here, we compared fermentation quality and bacterial dynamics in two plant materials, whole-plant corn (Zea mays L.) and Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum), with and without starter inoculation. The efficacy of Lactobacillus plantarum , L. brevis , and Pediococcus pentosaceus as starter cultures were also compared in the ensiling system. In whole-plant corn, pH decreased significantly, while lactic acid content increased significantly on Day 3 in both the non-inoculated and LAB-inoculated groups. Prior to ensiling, the predominant LAB bacteria were Weissella , Enterococcus , and Lactococcus , which shifted to Lactobacillus during ensiling of whole-plant corn in both the non-inoculated and LAB inoculated groups. Interestingly, the epiphytic LAB associated with Napier grass were much lower than those of whole-plant corn before ensiling. Consequently, the fermentation quality of Napier grass was improved by the addition of LAB inoculants, especially L. plantarum and a combination of all three selected LAB strains showed better fermentation quality than the non-inoculated control. Therefore, the different abundance and diversity of epiphytic LAB in plant raw materials could be one of the most important factors determining whether LAB starter cultures would be necessary for silage fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forage preservation for livestock feeding is usually done by drying the plant material and storing it as hay or ensiling it into silage. During the ensiling process, the pH in the system is lowered by the activities of lactic acid-producing bacteria (LAB), inhibiting the growth of spoilage microorganisms and maintaining the quality of the ensiled product. To improve this process, inoculation of LAB could be used as starter cultures to shorten the ensiling time and control the fermentation process. Here, we compared fermentation quality and bacterial dynamics in two plant materials, whole-plant corn (Zea mays L.) and Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum), with and without starter inoculation. The efficacy of Lactobacillus plantarum, L. brevis, and Pediococcus pentosaceus as starter cultures were also compared in the ensiling system. In whole-plant corn, pH decreased significantly, while lactic acid content increased significantly on Day 3 in both the non-inoculated and LAB-inoculated groups. Prior to ensiling, the predominant LAB bacteria were Weissella, Enterococcus, and Lactococcus, which shifted to Lactobacillus during ensiling of whole-plant corn in both the non-inoculated and LAB inoculated groups. Interestingly, the epiphytic LAB associated with Napier grass were much lower than those of whole-plant corn before ensiling. Consequently, the fermentation quality of Napier grass was improved by the addition of LAB inoculants, especially L. plantarum and a combination of all three selected LAB strains showed better fermentation quality than the non-inoculated control. Therefore, the different abundance and diversity of epiphytic LAB in plant raw materials could be one of the most important factors determining whether LAB starter cultures would be necessary for silage fermentation.