This study was conducted to determine the quality of italian ryegrass (IRG) and whole-crop barley (WCB) silage combined with heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) during fermentation. Six strains of LAB (L. plantarum IMAU 70164, L. acidophilus KACC 12419, L. casei KACC 12413, L. reuteri KCTC 3594, L. buchneri KACC 12416 and L. diolivorans KACC 12385) were used in this study. L. casei and L. reuteri had the highest propionic acid production and were therefore used for fermenting the forages. The forages were fermented using monoculture and co-culture of L. casei and L. reuteri for 30, 45 and 60 days of ensiling. Addition of LAB lowered the pH of the IRG silage (p<0.05). Moisture content, lactic acid and acetic acid contents were higher (p<0.05) after addition of LAB. Water soluble carbohydrate was significantly lower (p<0.05) in WCB with a co-culture containing L. casei and L. reuteri. Propionic acid production was comparatively higher after addition of LAB to WCB on days 30, 45 and 60 while butyric acid was only detected in the IRG control on day 60. Fungi was not detected within 60 days after addition of LAB in IRG and WCB. Through this experiment, improved forage preservation was achieved using a co-culture containing L. casei and L. reuteri. WCB silage had higher propionic acid concentration and thus, it was a better forage for ensiling using co-culture of L. casei and L. reuteri.