This study aimed to examine the effects of feeding corn silage inoculated without or with either Lactobacillus buchneri (LB) alone or a combination of LB and Lactobacillus plantarum (LBLP) on the apparent digestibility, ruminal fermentation, microbial protein synthesis, and growth performance of lambs. Thirty Santa Inês×Dorper crossbred intact males lambs weighing 20.4±3.8 kg were blocked by weight into 10 groups. Lambs in each group were randomly assigned to 1 of the following 3 dietary treatments: untreated (Control), LB, and LBLP silage. Lambs were fed experimental diets for 61 d. The apparent digestibility was indirectly estimated from indigestible NDF measured on d 57 to 59. Spot urine samples were collected from all animals on d 59 to estimate microbial protein synthesis. Lambs were slaughtered for carcass evaluation on d 61 when they weighed 32.4±5.2 kg. Six additional ruminally cannulated Santa Inês×Dorper crossbred wethers weighing 40.5±1.8 kg were used to examine dietary effects on ruminal fermentation. Average daily gain was increased when lambs were fed LBLP silage (P<0.05) but not LB silage. The LBLP silage had the highest (P<0.05) lactic acid concentration and both inoculated silages had greater acetic acid concentrations than the Control silage (P<0.05). Inoculation of corn silage increased intakes of DM, OM, CP, NDF, total carbohydrate (CHO), and GE by the lambs but decreased digestibility of DM, OM, CP, total and nonstructural carbohydrates, and concentration of GE and ME. (P<0.05). Nevertheless, lambs fed inoculated silages had greater microbial N supply than those on the Control treatment (P<0.05). The acetate to propionate ratio was lower in ruminal fluid of wethers in LBLP treatment than LB and Control treatment (P<0.05) and ruminal pH tended to be greater in LB lambs than in LBLP and Control wethers (P<0.10). Finally, the inoculation with both bacteria combined enhanced the silage fermentation. The intakes of DM, OM, CP, NDF, and GE were improved in the lambs fed corn silage inoculated with L. buchneri alone or combined with L. plantarum. The microbial N supply was enhanced in the lambs fed corn silage inoculated with L. buchneri. The inoculation of L. buchneri combined with L. plantarum reduced the acetate to propionate ratio in ruminal fluid and improved the ADG of lambs.

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A database containing 140 articles published in journals (731 treatment means evaluated) was used to examine the effect of different lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on fermentation, chemical composition and aerobic stability of maize (corn) silage. Compared with the control, dry matter (DM) loss increased by 8% and 50% (p < .01) due to inoculation of maize silage with either homolactic LAB ( ho LAB) or heterolactic LAB ( he LAB). In vitro DM digestibility of maize silage increased only with ho LAB inoculation (+2.22%; p < .01). The he LAB inoculation increased (p < .01) the aerobic stability of maize silage by 71.3 hr. To investigate the effect of silage inoculation on livestock production, a second database comprising 35 articles [99 treatment means evaluated based on results from 648 cattle (429 beef cattle and 219 dairy cows) and 298sheep] was used. Inoculation of maize silage with either ho LAB or he LAB did not affect milk yield (p > .05), but their combination ( mix LAB) depressed milk yield (-2.5 kg/ day; p < .01). Inoculation with ho LAB increased DM intake in sheep (+0.15 kg/day; p = .02), but decreased it in beef cattle (-0.26 kg/day; p = .01) without affecting average daily gain for both sheep and beef cattle (p ≥ .06). In conclusion, fermentative loss increased regardless of the bacterial inoculant used, while aerobic stability increased mainly by using he LAB. Benefits from ho LAB inoculation on animal performance were noted only for feed intake in sheep, while productive performances of dairy cows and beef cattle were not improved. K E Y W O R D Saerobic deterioration, animal performance, fermentation, Lactobacillus spp., silage inoculant | 597

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Objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos da inoculação de Bacillus subtilis sobre as características e perdas ocorridas na fermentação, no desenvolvimento de leveduras e fungos filamentosos e na estabilidade aeróbia de silagens de milho. Estudou-se o milho híbrido 2B655, no qual avaliaram-se os seguintes tratamentos: silagem sem inoculação de B. subtilis e silagens inoculadas com B. subtilis nas concentrações de 5x10(4); 1x10(5) e 5x10(5)UFC/g de forragem. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, em esquema de parcelas subdivididas, em que as silagens constituíram as parcelas e os tempos de exposição aeróbia as subparcelas, com quatro repetições. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à análise de variância por meio do software SISVAR®, bem como aplicou-se a análise de regressão a 5% de significância. A aplicação de B. subtilis não alterou as características químicas e as perdas no processo de fermentação da silagem de milho. A contagem de leveduras na abertura dos silos foi reduzida, assim como a população de fungos filamentosos diminuiu durante a exposição aeróbia, o que implicou em menores valores de pH e resultou em maior estabilidade aeróbia, devido à utilização da maior dose de B. subtilis. A inoculação de Bacillus subtilis na concentração de 5x10(5)UFC/g de forragem controla o crescimento dos micro-organismos deterioradores e melhora a estabilidade aeróbia da silagem de milho, a manter os valores de pH mais estáveis na fase de pós-abertura dos silos.

We conducted a meta‐analysis to investigate the impact of Lactobacillus plantarum or Lactobacillus buchneri on the fermentation, chemical composition, and aerobic stability of sugarcane silage. Two databases that included 15 and 27 published articles (81 and 83 silages evaluated) were used to evaluate L. plantarum and L. buchneri, respectively. For each database, the means of the treatments compiled from the studies were classified into two categories: (a) sugarcane silage without inoculant (untreated) and (b) sugarcane silage inoculated with L. plantarum (1 × 105–1.8 × 106 cfu/g of fresh forage) or with L. buchneri (2.5 × 104–1 × 106 cfu/g of fresh forage; inoculated). Sugarcane silage inoculated with L. plantarum displayed increased ethanol concentration (+43.8%, p < 0.01) and dry matter (DM) loss (+9.6%, p = 0.03). In contrast, inoculation with L. buchneri increased the acetic acid concentration (+30.8%, p = 0.01), and decreased ethanol concentration (−58.8%, p < 0.01) and DM loss (−19.7%, p < 0.01). In vitro DM digestibility decreased following inoculation with L. plantarum (−5.7%, p = 0.05) or L. buchneri (−3.3%, p < 0.01). Aerobic stability was unaffected by inoculation with L. plantarum (p = 0.16) or L. buchneri (p = 0.48). The results show that L. plantarum impairs the fermentation of sugarcane silages; therefore, its utilization might not be recommended for ensiling this crop. Conversely, even with no additional gain on silage digestibility and aerobic stability, L. buchneri may be recommended for sugarcane ensiling because it reduces alcoholic fermentation and DM loss.

Our objective was to investigate Lactobacillus buchneri as a silage additive and the forage:concentrate (F:C) ratio on growth performance and meat quality of finishing beef cattle. The trial was a 2 (corn silage untreated or inoculated with L. buchneri) × 2 (two F:C ratios, 60:40 or 40:60) factorial. Bulls fed a 40:60 F:C diet containing inoculated silage had greater dry matter (DM) intake (P < 0.01) and average daily gain (P = 0.029) compared with other treatments. DM (P = 0.02) and neutral detergent digestibility (P < 0.01) were depressed by inoculation of corn silage with L. buchneri. Thiobarbituric acid concentration in meat increased (P < 0.01) by 15% in bulls fed the 60:40 F:C diet compared with the 40:60 F:C diet. Inoculation of silage increased (P = 0.02) the ratio of unsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids. Compared with the 60:40 F:C diet, the concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (P = 0.03) and omega-6 fatty acids (P = 0.02) increased in longissimus muscle by 23% and 26%, respectively, in bulls fed the 40:60 F:C diet. Inoculation of corn silage with L. buchneri inconsistently improved the growth performance and meat traits of finishing bulls consuming diets differing in F:C.

Our objective was to investigate Lactobacillus buchneri as a silage inoculant or probiotic on in vitro ruminal measurements of low dry-matter whole-crop maize silage. In vitro gas production was conducted using untreated (without inoculant) and inoculated (treated with L. buchneri CNCM I-4323 at 1 9 10 5 cfu g À1 of fresh forage) maize silages (wet-ground) incubated with three different ruminal inocula, in a 2 9 3 factorial arrangement. Ruminal fluids were collected from wethers consuming (i) untreated maize silage (RF-U); (ii) inoculated maize silage (RF-I); and (iii) untreated maize silage with a daily dose of L. buchneri CNCM I-4323 administered directly into the rumen (1 9 10 7 cfu g À1 of supplied silage [LB-probiotic]). Gas production was consistently higher when inoculated silage was used as the substrate of fermentation, compared to the untreated silage. When untreated silage was used as substrate, the total volatile fatty acid concentration was higher using RF-I and LBprobiotic inocula, compared to the RF-U inoculum, at 9 hr and at 48 hr of fermentation. It is concluded that L. buchneri should be used as a silage inoculant rather than as a probiotic because it alters fermentation within the silo thereby improving silage quality and enabling some benefits for ruminal fermentation.