Effects of Additives on Silage Fermentation Characteristic and In Vitro Digestibility of Perennial Oat at Different Maturity Stages on the Qinghai Tibetan.

Ping Li,Chao Chen,Xiaokang Huang,Maoya Li,Guangrou Lu,Chaosheng Liao,Wenlong Gou,Xiaolong Tang,Liangyin Chen

doi:10.3390/microorganisms9112403

Ping Li, Chao Chen + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9112403

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Abstract

To effectively use local grass resources to cover the winter feed shortage on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the silage fermentation and in vitro digestibility of perennial oat (Helictotrichon virescens Henr.) were investigated. Perennial oat was harvested at the heading/flowering stage, wilted under sunny conditions, chopped, vacuumed in small bag silos, and stored at ambient temperatures (5–15 °C) for 60 days. The silages were treated without (CK) or with local lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculant (IN1), commercial LAB inoculant (IN2), and sodium benzoate (BL). Control silages of perennial oat at early heading stage showed higher (p < 0.05) lactate and acetate contents and lower (p < 0.05) final pH, butyrate, and ammonia-N contents than those at the flowering stage. High levels of dry matter recovery (DMR) and crude protein (CP) were observed in IN1- and BL-treated silages, with high in vitro gas production and dry matter digestibility. Compared to CK, additives increased (p < 0.05) aerobic stability by inhibiting yeasts, aerobic bacteria, and coliform bacteria during ensiling. In particular, the local LAB inoculant increased (p < 0.05) concentrations of lactate, acetate and propionate, and decreased concentrations of butyrate and ammonia-N in silages. This study confirmed that local LAB inoculant could improve the silage quality of perennial oat, and this could be a potential winter feed for animals such as yaks on the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau.

Highlights

Published: 22 November 2021Grazing yaks on the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau suffer from starvation due to feed storage in the winter and early spring
The chopped perennial oat from each plot was randomly divided into four equal parts for the following treatments: (1) no additives (CK); (2) local lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculant (IN1; Lactobacillus plantarum BP18, Pediococcus pentosaceus HS1 and L. buchneri LP22; isolated from natural fermented silages on the Qinghai Tibetan Plateaus; applied at 106 cfu/g fresh matter (FM), recommend by Chen et al (2020) [2]; (3) commercial LAB inoculant (IN2; L. plantarum, L. buchneri, each 106 cfu/g FM, and provided Gaofuji Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Chengdu, China); and (4) chemical additive (BL; sodium benzoate, applied at an optimal rate of 2.4 g/FM, recommended by the EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed [13])
It is well established that both LAB and water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) play an important role in initiating fermentation for the preservation of silage nutrients

Summary

Introduction

Grazing yaks on the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau suffer from starvation due to feed storage in the winter and early spring. Yaks (especially during the fatting period) are displaced in warmer regions with abundant feed resources. The long-distance transport from a cold region to a warmer region may be costly for famers and unfavorable for the yak’s health. A short growing season with unstable climates may increase the unavailability of traditional forages such as oat. Silage has become an increasing important source of yak feed on the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau. Suitable plants for silage production mainly include perennial grass, annual grass, and crops in this region [1–4]. Some cultivated grasses have attracted attention for silage making due to their relatively high yields and nutritive value under unfavorable climatic conditions

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