Effects of different source additives and wilt conditions on the pH value, aerobic stability, and carbohydrate and protein fractions of alfalfa silage

Abstract

To improve the silage quality and reduce the silage additive cost, the present experiment was designed to evaluate the potential of applying the fermented juice of epiphytic lactic acid bacteria (FJLB) as an additive in alfalfa silage. The effects of FJLB on the fermentation quality, carbohydrate and protein fractions, and aerobic stability of alfalfa silage wilted under five different conditions were investigated and compared with commercial lactic acid bacteria (CLAB) and the control. The FJLB application decreased the pH value, the volatile fatty acids and non-protein nitrogen content, and the loss of sugar by 9.9%, 22.9%, 19.6% and 9.6%, respectively; it increased the lactic acid concentration by 29.5% and the aerobic stability by 17 h in comparison to the control. The FJLB application also decreased the pH value (4.44 vs. 4.66) and volatile fatty acid content (38.32 vs. 44.82) and increased the lactic acid concentration (68.99 vs. 63.29) in comparison to the CLAB-treated silage. However, the FJLB treatment had lower aerobic stability (254 h vs. 274 h) than the CLAB treatment. The FJLB application improved silage quality in comparison to the control; in addition, its effect as a fermentation stimulant may be comparable to or even better than CLAB.

Lactobacillus plantarum Inoculants Delay Spoilage of High Moisture Alfalfa Silages by Regulating Bacterial Community Composition

“…Frequent rainfall resulting in high air humidity slowed the moisture loss during wilting. As reported by Agarussi et al (2019) and Tao et al (2017), wilting decreased the WSC concentration and crude protein content in fresh alfalfa. The 24-h wilting may have exacerbated the lack of WSC (17.56 g/kg DM) in this study.…”

Fermentation quality and aerobic stability of mulberry silage prepared with lactic acid bacteria and propionic acid

“…In our study, BC in mulberry is 122.18 g lactic acid/kg of DM, which was higher than previous research (20.11 g lactic acid/kg of DM) (Trabi et al., ). The BC of mulberry was also higher than alfalfa (66–78 g lactic acid/kg of DM) (Tao et al., ; Wang, Wang, Zhou, & Feng, ; Wang et al., ), which was considered difficult to ensile well. In addition, Muck () reported that when the epiphytic population of LAB is greater than inoculants, LAB inoculant would not interfere with the silage fermentation.…”

“…Therefore, LAB inoculants, particularly homofermentative LAB, are widely used to improve fermentation for their non-corrosive and effective properties (Ni, Yang, Hua, Wang, & Pang, 2016). However, when the fermentation completed and the silage exposed to air, undesirable microorganisms will use the lactic acid or residue WSC to lead to the nutrient loss and health risks for animals and humans (Tao et al, 2017). Propionic acid (Wang, Yu, Wu, & Hannaway, 2018) or heterofermentative LAB, such as L. buchneri (Silva et al, 2018) and L. brevis (Daniel et al, 2015), are usually used to alleviate this deterioration.…”

Optimization of fermentation conditions through response surface methodology for enhanced antibacterial metabolite production by Streptomyces sp. 1-14 from cassava rhizosphere

“…The antimicrobial activity after 12 h of UV irradiation was 10.76% lower than that after 1 h. These decreases in antibacterial activity may have been due to decomposition or structural changes of the active ingredient under UV irradiation or acidic/basic conditions, thereby altering the activity. Therefore, during fermentation and storage, pH, light, storage temperature, etc., should be monitored as closely as possible to reduce the formation of fermentation products and to prevent their inactivation, which can both lead to reduced levels of the active ingredient(s) [ 36 , 56 – 58 ].…”