Enhancing fermentation quality and fiber decomposition of silage by introducing and lactic acid bacteria consortia.

INTRODUCTION

As a low-cost, high-fibre biomass resource, (reed) has significant potential for feed applications, particularly as a partial replacement for conventional roughage in ruminant diets.

METHODS

This study investigated the effects of integrating ( BNCC109047) with homofermentative/ heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) consortia on the fermentation and nutritional quality of (reed) silage. Five treatments were evaluated: a Control (CK, without inoculum) and four inoculants-LAB (1.5 × 108 CFU/kg LAB, 1:4 homofermentative ( BNCC 336421 and BNCC 135034 in a ratio of 1:1): heterofermentative ( BNCC 187961) ratio), LAB-BS2.5 (LAB plus 2.5 × 10 CFU/kg ), LAB-BS5.0 (LAB plus 5.0 × 10 CFU/kg ), and LAB-BS10.0 (LAB plus 1.0 × 10 CFU/kg )-with triplicate samples per group. Silage fermentation was conducted for 90 days.

RESULTS

LAB-BS10.0 demonstrated superior fermentation outcomes, achieving the highest lactic acid-to-total acid ratio (62.3%,  < 0.05) and the lowest ammonia nitrogen (NH-N) content (0.60 ± 0.09 g/kg,  < 0.05). Acetic and butyric acid concentrations were significantly reduced ( < 0.05), while neutral detergent fiber (NDF) decreased by 5.9% compared to the Control. Ether extract (EE) increased to 4.76% ( < 0.01), highlighting enhanced lipid preservation.

CONCLUSION

These results emphasize the synergistic potential of and LAB to optimize silage, providing a sustainable strategy to enhance forage quality and tackle global feed shortages.