Temperature and microbial changes of corn silage during aerobic exposure

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to estimate the temperature and microbial changes of corn silages during aerobic exposure. Methods: Kwangpyeongok (KW) and Pioneer 1543 (PI) corn hybrids were harvested at 29.7% of dry matter and chopped to 3 to 5 cm lengths. Homo (Lactobacillus plantarum; LP) or hetero (Lactobacillus buchneri; LB) fermentative inoculants at 1.2×105 colony forming unit/g of fresh forage was applied to the chopped corn forage which was then ensiled in quadruplicate with a 2×2 (hybrid×inoculant) treatment arrangement for 100 days. After the silo was opened, silage was sub-sampled for analysis of chemical compositions, in vitro digestibility, and fermentation indices. The fresh silage was continued to determine aerobic exposure qualities by recorded temperature and microbial changes. Results: The KW silages had higher (p<0.01) in vitro digestibilities of dry matter and neutral detergent fiber than those of PI silages. Silages applied with LB had higher (p<0.001) acetate concentration, but lower (p<0.01) lactate concentration and lactate to acetate ratio than those of LP silages. The interaction effect among hybrid and inoculant was detected in acetate production (p = 0.008), aerobic stability (p = 0.006), and lactic acid bacteria count (p = 0.048). The yeast was lower (p = 0.018) in LB silages than that in LP silages. During the aerobic exposure, PI silages showed higher (p<0.05) temperature and mold than KW silages, while LP silages had higher (p<0.05) lactic acid bacteria and yeast than LB silages. Conclusion: The results indicated that the changes of silage temperature during aerobic exposure seems mainly affected by mold growth, while applied LB only enhanced aerobic stability of PI silages.