Epiphytic Microflora on Alfalfa and Whole-Plant Corn

Abstract

Epiphytic microflora were identified and counted on four cuttings of alfalfa, each harvested at three stages of maturity, and on three whole-plant corn hybrids. Enterobacteriaceae were predominant on both crops. Yeasts and molds also were major epiphytic micro-organisms on whole-plant corn. The group—including lactobacilli, pediococci, and leuconostocs, which are genera that produce lactic acid and thus are instrumental in silage preservation—constituted only a small proportion of the total population (