Effects of a Delayed Harvest and Additives on the Fermentation Quality of Corn Stalk Silage

Li-Li Wang, Yan-Fen Li, Young-Sang Yu, Hak-Jin Kim, Won-Jin Lee and Jong-Geun Kim ()
Additional contact information
Li-Li Wang: Research Institute of Eco-Friendly Livestock Science, Institute of GreenBio Science Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Republic of Korea
Yan-Fen Li: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Republic of Korea
Young-Sang Yu: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Republic of Korea
Hak-Jin Kim: Research Institute of Eco-Friendly Livestock Science, Institute of GreenBio Science Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Republic of Korea
Won-Jin Lee: Research Institute of Eco-Friendly Livestock Science, Institute of GreenBio Science Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Republic of Korea
Jong-Geun Kim: Research Institute of Eco-Friendly Livestock Science, Institute of GreenBio Science Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Republic of Korea

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: This study investigated the effects of harvest time, cellulase, lactic acid bacteria, and ensiling with alfalfa hay on the chemical parameters, bacterial community composition, and fermentation of corn stalk silage. Corn stalks were ensiled after the ear harvest at 0 days (D0) and 20 days (D20). Each harvest was treated with alfalfa hay [AL, 5% of fresh matter (FM)], Lactobacillus plantarum (Lp) (1 × 10 6 CFU/g of FM), Trichoderma cellulase (TC) (100 mg/kg of FM), or both Lp and TC (Lp+TC). The silos were opened after 60 days of fermentation. The dry matter (DM) content of raw materials increased from 18.79% to 28.32% with the harvest time. The acid detergent fiber (ADF) content also significantly increased ( p < 0.05), while water-soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) significantly decreased ( p < 0.05). After 60 days, the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and ADF contents increased, and all chemical composition and fermentation state parameters of silages had significant differences ( p < 0.05) with the harvest time. Compared with the control group, the AL treatment resulted in higher ( p < 0.05) DM and crude protein (CP) contents, and the Lp+TC treatment resulted in a lower NDF ( p < 0.05) content. For D0, the TC and Lp+TC treatments resulted in a higher WSC content and lower NDF and ADF contents than in D20. Meanwhile, the ammonia-nitrogen (NH 3 -N) content in each treatment was less than 10% of the DM. The pH values were all approximately 3.70. The AL treatment significantly increased the lactic acid (LA) content and lactic/acetic acid ratio (LA/AA). Additionally, the silages had a similar microbial environment before and after fermentation. We recommend harvesting corn stalks for silage immediately after the corn ear harvest. Adding cellulase improved the corn stalk feed value, and ensiling with alfalfa hay improved its fermentation quality.

Keywords: corn stalk; lactic acid bacteria; cellulase; alfalfa hay; silage quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/2/174/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/2/174/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:2:p:174-:d:1325477

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().