Experiments were conducted over a 3-year period to evaluate the effects of bacterial inoculants on the fermentation profile and aerobic stability of whole-plant corn silage (WPC), snaplage (SNP), and high-moisture corn (HMC). Whole-plant corn was inoculated with Lentilactobacillus buchneri PJB1 in combination with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum MTD1or with L. plantarum alone (Experiments 1 and 2). Snaplage (Experiment 3) and HMC (Experiments 4 and 5) were inoculated with L. buchneri in combination with L. plantarum or with L. buchneri alone. After inoculation, the feedstuffs were ensiled in 7.57-L silos and stored at 21 ± 2°C for 30 or 90 d. In Experiment 5, silage was subjected to air stress for 2 h every 2 weeks through 42 d and then for 2 h/week until 90 d and had samples analyzed for their bacterial community composition by metagenomics. Overall, in all experiments, silages inoculated with L. buchneri alone or in combination with L. plantarum had more acetic acid and 1,2-propanediol and fewer yeasts than uninoculated silages. After 30 d of ensiling, inoculation with L. buchneri alone or in combination with L. plantarum did not affect the aerobic stability of SNP, but it slightly increased the stability of WPC and markedly improved the stability of HMC. After 90 d of ensiling, inoculation with L. buchneri alone or in combination with L. plantarum markedly improved the aerobic stability of WPC, SNP, and HMC. In Experiment 5, inoculation increased the relative abundance (RA) of Lactobacillaceae and reduced the RA of Enterobacteriaceae and Leuconostocaceae in HMC at 30 and 90 d and the RA of Clostridiaceae in non-air-stressed HMC at 90 d. Air-stressed HMC inoculated with L. buchneri had less lactic acid, more acetic acid and 1,2-propanediol, and markedly greater aerobic stability than uninoculated air-stressed HMC at 90 d. In conclusion, inoculation with L. buchneri PJB1 alone or in combination with L. plantarum MTD1 increased the production of acetic acid and 1,2-propanediol, inhibited yeasts development, and improved the aerobic stability of WPC, SNP, and HMC. In HMC, inoculation markedly improved aerobic stability as soon as after 30 d of ensiling, and after 90 d, it improved stability even under air stress conditions.
Keywords: Lentilactobacillus buchneri; high-moisture corn; metagenomics; snaplage.
© 2023, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. and Fass Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).