The Effect of Lactobacillus buchneri, Lactobacillus plantarum, or a Chemical Preservative on the Fermentation and Aerobic Stability of Corn Silage

¹ Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Animal & Food Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Delaware, Newark 19717-1303

Several microorganisms and one chemical preservative were tested for their effects on the fermentation and aerobic stability of corn silage. Whole-plant corn (one-half milk line, 31.3% dry matter) was ensiled in quadruplicate 20-L laboratory silos untreated or after the following treatments: Lactobacillus buchneri at 1 x 10⁵ and 1 x 10⁶ cfu/g of fresh forage; two different strains of L. plantarum, each at 1 x 10⁶ cfu/g; and a buffered propionic acid-based product at 0.1% of fresh forage weight. After 100 d of ensiling, silage treated with L. buchneri (1 x 10⁶ cfu/g) had a lower concentration of lactic acid compared with the untreated silage, but was similar to other treated silages. The silage treated with the high (1 x 10⁶ cfu/g), but not the moderate rate (1 x 10⁵ cfu/g) of L. buchneri also had a greater concentration of acetic acid (3.60%) and less yeasts (2.01 log cfu/g) when compared with other treatments (average of 1.88% acetic acid and 5.85 log cfu of yeasts/g). Silages treated with L. plantarums, the moderate rate of L. buchneri, and the chemical preservative took longer to heat than untreated silage when exposed to air, but improvements were numerically small (6.3 to 10.5 h). In contrast, silage treated with the high rate of L. buchneri never heated throughout a 900-h period of monitoring. Inoculating corn silage with 1 x 10⁶ cfu/g of L. buchneri resulted in a more heterolactic fermentation and dramatically improved the aerobic stability of corn silage.

Key Words: aerobic stability • inoculant • silage • Lactobacillus buchneri

Submitted on June 8, 1999
Accepted on October 8, 1999

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