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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the promoting effect of a Bacillus velezensis (BV) strain on lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and determine its influence on the fermentation quality and aerobic stability of silage. Methods: Flat colony counting method was used to evaluate the effect of BV on the growth of LAB. Freshly harvested whole-plant corn was inoculated separately with BV and L. plantarum (LP), along with an uninoculated control group (CK), and assessed at 1, 3, 5, 7, 15, and 30 days of ensiling. Results: The results indicated that BV exhibited a proliferative effect on Weissella confusa, Lactobacillus plantarum L-2, and Pediococcus pentosaceus. And exhibited a more rapid pH reduction in BV-inoculated silage compared with that in CK and LP-inoculated silage during the initial stage of ensiling. Throughout ensiling, the BV and LP experimental groups showed enhanced silage fermentation quality over CK. Additionally, relative to LP-inoculated silage, BV-inoculated silage displayed reduced pH and propionic acid. BV also prolonged aerobic stability under aerobic conditions. The microbial community in BV-inoculated silage showed greater stability than that in LPinoculated silage. Additionally, Firmicutes and Lactobacillus exhibited more rapid elevation initially in BV versus LP-inoculated silage, but reached comparable levels between the two inoculation groups in the later stage. Conclusion: In summary, BV enhanced the efficacy and aerobic stability of whole-plant corn silage fermentation by stimulating LAB proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment aimed to explore the impact of organic fertilizer on the quality, digestive characteristics, and aerobic stability of whole-plant corn silage of different varieties. A two-factor experimental design was employed, using four corn varieties: Da Kang 205 (DK205), High Oil 958 (HO958), Zhong Yu 335 (ZY335), and Zhong Nong 787 (ZN787). Two treatments were applied: Organic fertilizer application and no organic fertilizer application. The whole plants were harvested at the wax ripening stage and subjected to whole-plant ensiling. After a 200-day fermentation period, relevant indicators were analyzed. The results showed that the interaction effect of variety and organic fertilizer had an impact on the content of lactic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid and ammonia nitrogen/total nitrogen ratio ( P<0.05). The Interaction effect of variety and organic fertilizer had an impact on the content of dry matter, crude protein, starch, and acid detergent fiber ( P<0.05). The organic fertilizer group exhibited higher in vitro dry matter digestibility and aerobic stability, with ZN787 showing significantly higher in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility than the other three varieties ( P<0.05). The study indicates that the application of organic fertilizer has varying degrees of improvement on the quality, digestive characteristics, and aerobic stability of whole-plant corn silage for different varieties. ZN787 is suitable for promoting whole-plant corn silage cultivation in the Inner Mongolia region, and the application of organic fertilizer can further enhance the silage quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whole-plant corn has been previously investigated as a biomass feedstock. Current approaches are analogous to harvesting whole-plant corn for livestock feed or biogas production. They include utilizing a self-propelled forage harvester to harvest the plant as a bulk material and storing it anaerobically. This process leads to grain damage, reducing the marketability of the grain after fractionation. This work investigated a process that included harvesting and anaerobically storing whole-ear corn with corn stover as an alternative. Over two harvest seasons, dry matter losses, moisture content changes, and grain damage were assessed after anaerobic storage. Less than 3% grain damage was observed across all treatments. Stover moisture decreased by 3% to 7% wet basis. Depending on the harvest year (p < 0.001), grain moisture content increased by 7 to 10 percentage points wet basis (p = 0.012). Cob moisture increased by about four percentage points wet basis regardless of harvest year (p = 0.49). Dry matter losses for the overall treatment were less than 3% across both harvest seasons, but high variability was observed when reviewing the losses in the ear and stover fractions. Based on this work, whole ear storage should be considered where subsequent grain fractionation and the marketability of the grain fraction are a concern.

The state‐of‐technology for corn stover harvest is a multi‐pass system that collects the stover after grain harvest. An alternative is a single‐stream system where the grain and stover are harvested as a bulk material co‐stored and preserved by anerobic fermentation, and finally, co‐transported to a biorefinery. In the present work, four single‐pass whole‐plant bulk systems were compared with a conventional multi‐pass bale system. The single‐stream systems consisted of the harvest of corn grain and a portion of the stover fraction. Four machine configurations were simulated. This work predicted that a multi‐pass bale system would result in a material cost of 111.80 $2021 Mg–1 stover DM delivered to the biorefinery gate. Alternatively, the lowest cost single‐stream system was the self‐propelled forage harvester (SPFH) configured with the whole‐plant header, which delivered feedstock for 74.76 $2021 Mg stover DM–1. In addition to machine configuration, a sensitivity analysis was performed to understand important drivers of feedstock cost. These analyses revealed that feedstock cost increased with moisture content, fertilizer price, and biorefinery size, and decreased with harvest season length, crop yield, and grower participation. This work demonstrated that single‐stream systems could reduce corn stover feedstock costs in comparison with state‐of‐technology systems. © 2022 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whole-plant corn has been previously investigated as a biomass feedstock. Current approaches are analogous to harvesting whole-plant corn for livestock feed or biogas production. They include utilizing a self-propelled forage harvester to harvest the plant as a bulk material and storing it anaerobically. This process leads to grain damage, reducing the marketability of the grain after fractionation. This work investigated a process that included harvesting and anaerobically storing whole-ear corn with corn stover as an alternative. Over two harvest seasons, dry matter losses, moisture content changes, and grain damage were assessed after anaerobic storage. Less than 3% grain damage was observed across all treatments. Stover moisture decreased by 3% to 7% wet basis. Depending on the harvest year (p < 0.001), grain moisture content increased by 7 to 10 percentage points wet basis (p = 0.012). Cob moisture increased by about four percentage points wet basis regardless of harvest year (p = 0.49). Dry matter losses for the overall treatment were less than 3% across both harvest seasons, but high variability was observed when reviewing the losses in the ear and stover fractions. Based on this work, whole ear storage should be considered where subsequent grain fractionation and the marketability of the grain fraction are a concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was to explore the effect of different proportions of whole plant corn and sorghum mixed storage on the quality of fermentation and nutrition of silage, and to determine the appropriate mixing ratio of whole plant corn and sorghum used as silage. A total of five treatments were set up in experiment, including three mixed storage groups and two single storage groups. Whole plant corn and whole plant sorghum were mixed in ratio of 3∶1 (YG31), 1∶1 (YG11), 1∶3 (YG13), respectively in mixed storage group, whole plant silage corn (YG10) and whole plant sorghum silaged alone (YG01) in single storage group, with three replicates in each group. The fermentation period was 60 d. The results showed that compared with single storage, maize and sorghum mixed storage could improve the sensory score and fermentation quality of silage in different degrees. The comprehensive score of YG31 was significantly higher than that of YG10 and YG01 (P<0.05), the pH was significantly lower than that of YG10 (P<0.05), and lactic acid/total acid ratio was significantly higher than that of YG01 (P<0.05). Compared with YG10 treatment, the content of dry matter, ether extract and neutral detergent fiber of YG31 and YG11 were significantly decreased (P<0.05), while the relative feeding quality (RFQ) was significantly increased (P<0.05). With the increase of sorghum ratio in mixed silage, the aerobic stability of silage decreased first, then increased, and then decreased. The aerobic stability of silage in YG31 treatment group was significantly lower than that in YG13 treatment group (P<0.05). The experiment indicates that the mixed silage of whole plant maize and whole plant sorghum can improve the fermentation quality and nutritional value of silage in different degrees, and the suitable mixed silage ratio is 3∶1~1∶1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [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. [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.

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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the promoting effect of a Bacillus velezensis (BV) strain on lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and determine its influence on the fermentation quality and aerobic stability of silage., Methods: Flat colony counting method was used to evaluate the effect of BV on the growth of LAB. Freshly harvested whole-plant corn was inoculated separately with BV and L. plantarum (LP), along with an uninoculated control group (CK), and assessed at 1, 3, 5, 7, 15, and 30 days of ensiling., Results: The results indicated that BV exhibited a proliferative effect on Weissella confusa, Lactobacillus plantarum L-2, and Pediococcus pentosaceus. And exhibited a more rapid pH reduction in BV-inoculated silage compared with that in CK and LP-inoculated silage during the initial stage of ensiling. Throughout ensiling, the BV and LP experimental groups showed enhanced silage fermentation quality over CK. Additionally, relative to LP-inoculated silage, BV-inoculated silage displayed reduced pH and propionic acid. BV also prolonged aerobic stability under aerobic conditions. The microbial community in BV-inoculated silage showed greater stability than that in LP-inoculated silage. Additionally, Firmicutes and Lactobacillus exhibited more rapid elevation initially in BV versus LP-inoculated silage, but reached comparable levels between the two inoculation groups in the later stage., Conclusion: In summary, BV enhanced the efficacy and aerobic stability of whole-plant corn silage fermentation by stimulating LAB proliferation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Ying, Zhang, Tang, Zhang and Chen.)

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of replacement of whole-plant corn with oat and common vetch on the fermentation quality, chemical composition and aerobic stability of total mixed ration (TMR) silage in Tibet. Four TMR that varied in the forage sources on dry matter basis were used: (i) 52% whole-plant corn (Control); (ii) 43% oat + 12% common vetch (OC3.6); (iii) 38% oat + 18% common vetch (OC2.2); and (iv) 33% oat + 23% common vetch (OC1.5). Silos were opened on day 45 and then subjected to an aerobic stability test for 12 days. The results showed that all silages were well preserved with low pH and NH3-N, and high lactic acid and V-scores. With the increasing proportion of common vetch, crude protein, ether extract increased (P < 0.05), and neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber decreased (P < 0.05). Under aerobic conditions, treated silages were more stable than the control silage as indicated by lower (P < 0.05) pH and yeast population. It was concluded that replacement of whole-plant corn with oat and common vetch had no unfavorable effects on the fermentation quality and improved crude protein content and aerobic stability of TMR silage. OC2.2 silage was the best among three treated TMR silages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ensiling fresh alfalfa alone is often challenging. • Alfalfa and whole-plant corn are complementary in forage ensilability. • Inclusion of corn accelerated the acidification rate in the early silage fermentation. • Silage microflora structure was improved when alfalfa was ensiled along with corn. Silage fermentation improves when alfalfa is ensiled along with whole-plant corn, yet so far the impact of their mixing ratios on individual bacteria during fermentation is weakly described. The objective of this work was to explore the effect of combining alfalfa with whole-plant corn in different ratios on silage bacterial community and fermentation profile over the entire ensiling process. The alfalfa at the early bloom stage and whole-plant corn at around the 1/3 milk line stage were freshly chopped and blended at proportions of 1:0 (served as Control), 0.8:0.2 (Mix 1), 0.6:0.4 (Mix 2) and 0:1 on a fresh matter basis. Each treatment was prepared in triplicate and ensiled in plastic bag silos for 0, 3, 7, 14 and 35 days. The fermentation coefficient of fresh matter used to asses a forage ensilability linearly increased, with more corn in the mixture. During the first 3 days of fermentation, the greatest pH drop occurred in all silages. Seven days later, the silage pH in Mix 1, Mix 2 and corn further decreased, and alfalfa silage pH slightly increased, however. After 35 days of ensiling, alfalfa silage was poorly fermented, shown by a high level of pH (4.69), acetic acid (35.7 g/kg dry matter), propionic acid (29.0 g/kg dry matter), n-butyric acid (12.1 g/kg dry matter) and ammonia nitrogen (108 g/kg total nitrogen). Silage fermentation was significantly improved with corn percentage increasing from 20 % to 100 %. In the early stage of fermentation, Lactobacillus and Pediococcus relative abundance noticeably increased in alfalfa, Mix 1 and Mix 2 silages, whereas Leuconostoc abundance was noticeably enriched and outnumbered Lactobacillus and Pediococcus in corn silage. During 7–35 days of ensiling, the bacterial community structure in all silages comparatively stayed stable. Besides, Lactobacillus abundance increased while Pediococcus and Weissella richness decreased with more corn, at each period above. The bacterial community composition of all fresh materials was similar at the genus level, consisting mainly of Weissella , Leuconostoc , Pantoea , Enterobacter , Pseudomonas and Rosenbergiella. However, the development of Lactobacillus , Pediococcus and Leuconostoc species in alfalfa, Mix 1 and Mix 2 silages in the early stage of fermentation was different from corn silage. Subsequently, the bacterial community structure in all silages relatively stayed stable. Overall silage fermentation quality was better when alfalfa was ensiled in a mixture with at least 20 % whole-plant corn on a fresh matter basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ensiling gives a sustainable solution for Bamboo shoot shell (BSS) management. • BSS was explored as a new roughage source for TMR. • The BSS replacement had no adverse effect on the silage quality and digestibility. • BSS was effective in improving aerobic stability of TMR silage. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of replacing of whole-plant corn (WPC) with different proportions of bamboo shoot shell (BSS) on the fermentation quality, chemical composition, aerobic stability and in vitro digestibility of total mixed ration (TMR) silage. Four TMRs were produced on a fresh matter basis: (i) 45% WPC (control); (ii) 15% BSS + 30% WPC (BSS15); (iii) 25% BSS + 20% WPC (BSS25); and (iv) 35% BSS + 10% WPC (BSS35). After ensiling for 5, 7, 14, 30 and 90 days, silos were opened for silage quality and in vitro parameter analyses, and a subsequent aerobic stability test was performed on the 90-day silage for 14 days. The 90-day silages replaced with BSS15 and BSS25 were well fermented, as indicated by high lactic acid (LA) content, low pH value and ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N) and butyric acid (BA) contents. When aerobic exposure occurred, in comparison to the control, the BSS-replaced silages were more stable with lower fermentation temperature as well as higher contents of LA, acetic acid (AA) and water soluble carbohydrate (WSC). No significant differences of BSS replacement were observed on in vitro gas production, digestibility, metabolizable energy (ME) and net energy for lactation (NE L). In conclusion, the replacement of WPC with BSS15 and BSS25 had no adverse effect on fermentation quality and in vitro digestibility while improving the aerobic stability of TMR silage. The BSS25 replacement level is recommended to ensure the maximum utilization of BSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]