R.J. Schmidt

The effect of Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 or Lactobacillus plantarum MTD-1 on the fermentation and aerobic stability of corn silages ensiled at two dry matter contents

Whole-plant corn was harvested at 33 (normal) and 41% (moderately high) dry matter (DM) and ensiled in quadruplicate 20-L laboratory silos to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 (LB) or L. plantarum MTD-1 (LP) alone, or in combination, on the fermentation and aerobic stability of the resulting silage. Aerobic stability was defined as the amount of time after exposure to air for the silage temperature to reach 2 degrees C above ambient temperature. The chopped forage was used in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments: normal and moderately high DM contents, LB at 0 (untreated) or 4 x 10(5) cfu/g of fresh forage, and LP at 0 or 1 x 10(5) cfu/g. After 240 d of ensiling, corn silage harvested at the moderately high DM had higher pH, higher concentrations of ethanol, and more yeasts compared with the silage ensiled at the normal DM content. Inoculation with LB did not affect the concentration of lactic acid in silages with a moderately high DM, but decreased the concentration of lactic acid in the silage with normal DM. Higher concentrations of acetic acid were found in the silage treated with LB compared with those not treated with this organism. Inoculation with LP increased the concentration of lactic acid only in the silage with the normal DM content. The concentration of acetic acid was lower in silage treated with LP with a moderately high DM content, but greater in the silage treated with LP with the normal DM content when compared with silages without this inoculant. Appreciable amounts of 1,2-propanediol (average 1.65%, DM basis) were found in all silages treated with LB regardless of the DM content. The addition of L. buchneri increased the concentration of NH(3)-N in silages but the addition of L. plantarum decreased it. Aerobic stability was improved in all silages treated with LB, with greater aerobic stability occurring in the silage with moderately high DM compared with silage with normal DM content. Inoculation with LP had no effect on aerobic stability. There were no interactions between L. buchneri and L. plantarum for most fermentation products or aerobic stability of the silages. This study showed that inoculating whole-plant corn with L. buchneri 40788 or L. plantarum MTD-1 has different beneficial effects on the resulting silage. There appear to be no major interactions between these organisms when added together to forage. Thus, there is potential to add both organisms simultaneously to improve the fermentation and aerobic stability of corn silage.

The effects of Lactobacillus buchneri with or without a homolactic bacterium on the fermentation and aerobic stability of corn silages made at different locations

Whole-plant corn (31 to 39% dry matter) from several locations was chopped, treated with nothing (U), Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 (4 x 10(5) cfu/g; LB), or L. buchneri (4 x 10(5) cfu/g) and Pediococcus pentosaceus (1 x 10(5) cfu/g; LBPP), and packed into quadruplicate 20-L silos to determine their effects on silage fermentation and aerobic stability after 120 d of storage. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with main effects of treatment (T), block (location; L), and T x L interaction. Dry matter recovery was different among locations but unaffected by T. The population of lactic acid bacteria was greater in LB and LBPP than in U, and the opposite was true regarding the population of yeasts. Numbers of L. buchneri (colony-forming unit equivalents), determined by a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, were higher in 4 of 5 locations for LB and LBPP compared with U (T x L interaction) with an average 6.70 log cfu/g for LB and LBPP versus 4.87 log cfu/g for U. Silages inoculated with LB and LBPP had higher silage pH and higher concentrations of acetic acid and 1,2 propanediol but lower concentrations of ethanol and water-soluble carbohydrates; there was a T x L interaction for all these variables. Aerobic stability was improved by LB and LBPP (mean of 136 h) compared with U (44 h), but there was an interaction between T x L. In general, locations with the highest population of L. buchneri had the largest increases in acetic acid and, consequently, the greatest improvements in aerobic stability. The addition of L. buchneri 40788 alone or with P. pentosaceus resulted in similar effects on silage fermentation and aerobic stability, but the effects were variable among locations, suggesting that unidentified factors; for example, in the field or on the forage crop, may alter the effectiveness of microbial inoculation.

A Blend of Essential Plant Oils Used as an Additive to Alter Silage Fermentation or Used as a Feed Additive for Lactating Dairy Cows

A blend of essential plant oils was evaluated for its effects on silage fermentation and animal performance. In the first experiment, the blend of essential oils was mixed with freshly chopped whole-plant corn to achieve a concentration of 0, 40, or 80 mg of active product per kilogram of fresh forage weight. Whole-plant corn was also mixed with a buffered propionic acid-based product at 0.2% of fresh forage weight. The blend of essential oils did not affect the populations of yeasts, molds, lactic acid bacteria, or enterobacteria; the fermentation end products; or the aerobic stability of the corn silage. Addition of the buffered propionic acid additive moderately reduced the production of acids during fermentation and resulted in a small reduction in the numbers of yeasts after ensiling, but did not affect aerobic stability. In a second experiment, 30 Holstein cows (4 primiparous and 26 multiparous) averaging 118 +/- 70 d in milk and producing 38 +/- 16 kg of milk/d were fed a total mixed ration, once daily, that consisted of (on a DM basis) 25% corn silage, 15% alfalfa silage, 10% alfalfa hay, and 50% concentrate. One-half of the cows were fed a blend of essential oils that was mixed directly into their total mixed ration to provide 1.2 g/cow per d for 9 wk. Cows fed the essential oils ate 1.9 kg more dry matter/d and produced 2.7 kg more 3.5% fat-corrected milk/d than did cows fed the control diet. The percentages of milk fat and protein, the somatic cell count numbers, and the concentrations of milk urea nitrogen were unaffected by treatment. Feed efficiency, change in body weight, and change in body condition scoring were also similar between treatments. After 12 h of incubation, the addition of a moderate dose and a high dose of essential oils to in vitro ruminal fermentations had no effect on the concentration of total VFA compared with the control treatment. However, they decreased the molar proportions of acetic, butyric, and valeric acids and increased the proportion of propionic acid. The blend of essential oils evaluated in this study altered in vitro ruminal fermentation and improved animal performance when fed directly to cows, but it did not affect the fermentation or aerobic stability of corn silage.

The development of lactic acid bacteria and Lactobacillus buchneri and their effects on the fermentation of alfalfa silage.

This study was conducted to document the development of populations of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Lactobacillus buchneri in alfalfa silage treated with various inoculants. Wilted and chopped alfalfa (45% dry matter) was treated with 1) distilled water (untreated, U), 2) Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 (4 x 10(5) cfu/g; LB), or 3) L. buchneri 40788 (4 x 10(5) cfu/g) and Pediococcus pentosaceus (1 x 10(5) cfu/g; LBPP). Forages were packed into triplicate vacuum-sealed, nylon-polyethylene bags per treatment, and ensiled for 2, 5, 45, 90, and 180 d. Viable (cfu) LAB in forage and silage were quantified by traditional plating on selective agar, and numbers of L. buchneri (cfu-equivalent, cfu-E) were quantified by real-time quantitative PCR. Fresh, untreated forage had 5.52 log cfu of LAB/g and 3.79 log cfu-E of L. buchneri/g. After 2 d of ensiling, numbers of LAB increased to >8 log cfu/g in all silages. In contrast, numbers of L. buchneri in U remained below 4 log cfu-E/g but reached approximately 7 log cfu-E/g in LB and LBPP. From d 5 onward, numbers of L. buchneri in U remained below 6 log cfu-E/g but approached 9 log cfu-E/g in LB and LBPP. The pH was lower in LBPP compared with U and LB after 2 and 5 d of ensiling, but pH was lower for U compared with LB and LBPP thereafter. Treatments LB and LBPP had more acetic acid than U at 45 d of ensiling, which coincided with detectable amounts of 1,2 propanediol. Inoculation with LBPP resulted in silage with the highest concentration of 1,2 propanediol after 180 d of ensiling. From d 45 onward, LB and LBPP silages had lower concentrations of residual water-soluble carbohydrates but had higher concentrations of ammonia-N than U. In conclusion, epiphytic L. buchneri can be detected in alfalfa but this population is unable to lead the silage fermentation. In contrast, when L. buchneri was added to silage as an inoculant, the numbers of L. buchneri (cfu-E) increased markedly but did not dictate fermentation until 45 d of ensiling. These findings help to explain why the response (in increased acetic acid) from the addition of L. buchneri in silages is not immediate.

The Effect of Silage Cutting Height on the Nutritive Value of a Normal Corn Silage Hybrid Compared with Brown Midrib Corn Silage Fed to Lactating Cows

A brown midrib (BMR) hybrid and a silage-specific non-BMR (7511FQ) hybrid were harvested at a normal cut height leaving 10 to 15 cm of stalk in the field. The non-BMR hybrid was also cut at a greater height leaving 45 to 50 cm of stalk. Cutting high increased the concentrations of dry matter (+4%), crude protein (+5%), net energy for lactation (+3%), and starch (+7%), but decreased the concentrations of acid detergent fiber (-9%), neutral detergent fiber (-8%), and acid detergent lignin (-13%) for 7511FQ. As expected, the BMR corn silage was 30% lower in lignin concentration than 7511FQ. After 30 h of in vitro ruminal fermentation, the digestibility of neutral detergent fiber for normal cut 7511FQ, the same hybrid cut high, and the normal cut BMR hybrid were 51.7, 51.4, and 63.5%, respectively. Twenty-seven multiparous lactating cows were fed a total mixed ration composed of the respective silages (45% of dry matter) with alfalfa haylage (5%), alfalfa hay (5%), and concentrate (45%) (to make the TMR isocaloric and isonitrogenous) in a study with a 3 x 3 Latin square design with 21-d periods. Milk production was greater for cows fed the BMR hybrid (48.8 kg/d) compared with those fed the normal cut 7511FQ (46.8 kg/d) or cut high (47.7 kg/d). Dry matter intake was not affected by treatment. Feed efficiency for cows fed the BMR silage (1.83) was greater than for those fed high-cut 7511FQ (1.75), but was not different from cows fed the normal cut 7511FQ (1.77). Cows fed the BMR silage had milk with greater concentrations of lactose but lower milk urea nitrogen than cows on other treatments. Harvesting a silage-specific, non-BMR corn hybrid at a high harvest height improved its nutritive content, but the improvement in feeding value was not equivalent to that found when cows were fed BMR corn silage.

Short communication: An evaluation of the effectiveness of Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 to alter fermentation and improve the aerobic stability of corn silage in farm silos

The objective of this study was to determine if the effects of inoculation with Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 were detectable when applied to whole-plant corn stored in farm silos. Corn silage was randomly sampled from farms in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania, and was untreated (n = 15) or treated with an inoculant (n = 16) containing L. buchneri 40788 alone or this organism combined with Pediococcus pentosaceus during May and June 2007. Corn silage that was removed from the silo face during the morning feeding was sampled, vacuum-packed, and heat sealed in polyethylene bags and shipped immediately to the University of Delaware for analyses. Silage samples were analyzed for dry matter (DM), nutrient composition, fermentation end-products, aerobic stability, and microbial populations. The population of L. buchneri in silages was determined using a real-time quantitative PCR method. Aerobic stability was measured as the time after exposure to air that it took for a 2 degrees C increase above an ambient temperature. The DM and concentrations of lactic and acetic acids were 35.6 and 34.5, 4.17 and 4.85, and 2.24 and 2.41%, respectively, for untreated and inoculated silages and were not different between treatments. The concentration of 1,2-propanediol was greater in inoculated silages (1.26 vs. 0.29%). Numbers of lactic acid bacteria determined on selective agar were not different between treatments. However, the numbers of L. buchneri based on measurements using real-time quantitative PCR analysis were greater and averaged 6.46 log cfu-equivalents/g compared with 4.89 log cfu-equivalent for inoculated silages. There were fewer yeasts and aerobic stability was greater in inoculated silages (4.75 log cfu/g and 74 h of stability) than in untreated silages (5.55 log cfu/g and 46 h of stability). This study supports the effectiveness of L. buchneri 40788 on dairy farms.

Effect of physical damage to ears of corn before harvest and treatment with various additives on the concentration of mycotoxins, silage fermentation, and aerobic stability of corn silage.

We studied the effects of damaging ears of corn in the field prior to harvest and the use of various additives on the production of selected mycotoxins, silage fermentation, and aerobic stability of whole plant corn. In experiment 1, ears of corn were undamaged or were slashed with a knife 7 d before harvesting, exposing damaged kernels to the environment. Corn plants were harvested (about 35% DM) and treated in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Treatments were undamaged or damaged plants, untreated or treated with Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 (400,000 cfu/g of fresh forage) and Pediococcus pentosaceus (100,000 cfu/g). Damaging ears prior to harvest increased the amount of fumonisin but decreased the amount of starch in harvested corn plants. After ensiling, corn silage made from plants damaged before harvest had lower starch but greater concentrations of deoxynivalenol and fumonisin than silage made from plants that were undamaged. Microbial inoculation resulted in fewer yeasts and lower concentrations of zearalenone in silage when compared to uninoculated silage. Inoculated silage also had more acetic acid and 1,2-propanediol than did uninoculated silage. In experiment 2, ears of corn were undamaged or were slashed with a knife 27 d or 9 d before harvesting for corn silage. Whole plants were harvested at about 36% DM in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Factors were time of damaging the ears (27 d, 9 d, or no damage) relative to harvest and no additive or 0.1% (fresh weight) potassium sorbate. Damaging plants 9 d prior to harvest did not affect the concentrations of deoxynivalenol, fumonisin, and zearalenone in plants at harvest. However, concentrations of deoxynivalenol and fumonisin were increased in fresh forage that had ears damaged at 27 d when compared to corn plants that were undamaged. Corn plants damaged for 27 d prior to harvest also had a lower concentration of starch than corn damaged for 9 d but was higher in acid detergent fiber than other treatments. The addition of potassium sorbate at harvest had no effect on the concentrations of mycotoxins in the resulting silage, but concentrations of mycotoxins were still greatest in silage made from plants that were damaged the longest prior to harvest (27 d). Silages treated with potassium sorbate had fewer yeasts and molds than silages without the additive. Damaging ears of corn before harvest had no effects on the aerobic stability of silages in both experiments. In contrast, the addition of the inoculant and potassium sorbate improved aerobic stabilities of silages when compared to untreated silages. These studies showed that physical damage to ears of corn prior to harvest can result in the production of mycotoxins in the field. This finding suggests that producers should test corn silage for mycotoxins prior to feeding especially if the forage has been subjected to physical damage prior to ensiling.

The effect of wide swathing on wilting times and nutritive value of alfalfa haylage.

On 3 consecutive cuttings, alfalfa from a single field was mowed with a John Deere 946 mower-conditioner (4-m cut width; Moline, IL) to leave narrow swaths (NS) ranging from 1.2 to 1.52 m wide (30-37% of cutter bar width) and wide swaths (WS) ranging from 2.44 to 2.74 m wide (62-67% of cutter bar width). Samples were collected from windrows and dry matter (DM) was monitored during wilting until a target of 43 to 45% DM was obtained. Forage from random windrows (n=4-6) was harvested by hand, chopped through a forage harvester before being packed in replicated vacuum-sealed bags, and allowed to ensile for 65 d. There was no swath width x cutting interaction for any parameter tested. Over all cuttings, the resulting silage DM was not different between the NS silage (43.8%) and the WS silage (44.9%). However, wide swathing greatly reduced the time of wilting before making silage. The hours of wilting time needed to reach the targeted DM for the NS silage compared with the WS silage at cuttings 1, 2, and 3 were 50 versus 29, 54 versus 28, and 25 versus 6, respectively. At the time of ensiling, the WS silage had more water-soluble carbohydrates (5.1%) than did the NS silage (3.7%). The WS silage had a lower pH (4.58) than did the NS silage (4.66), but swath width did not affect fermentation end products (lactic acid, acetic acid, and ethanol). The NS silage had more NH(3)-N (0.26%) than did the WS silage (0.21%). Wide swathing did not affect the concentration of ash or the digestibility of NDF, but it lowered the N content (NS=3.45%; WS=3.23%) and increased the ADF content (NS=39.7%; WS=40.9%) of the resulting silage. Wide swathing can markedly reduce the time that alfalfa must wilt before it can be chopped for silage, but under good conditions, as in this study, the resulting silage quality was generally not improved.