Abstract
Freezing damages in forages represents a major economic loss to agriculture. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of freeze–thaw (FT) event on microbial community dynamics of red clover silage. Results showed that the FT-treated material displayed higher proportions of Weissella and aerobic bacteria, while lower Pantoea and Enterobacter compared with the control material. The FT event promoted the development of Lactobacillus in silage microflora, inducing more intense lactic fermentation after an initial short lag. The aerobic bacteria were suppressed immediately after the onset of ensiling. Microbiomes of the two silages tended to be almost similar after 2 days of ensiling. However, a small number of aerobic bacteria tended to revitalize in the FT silage with prolonged ensiling time, indicated by apparent abundances of Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas at the end of ensiling. The results obtained here suggest that the FT event could promote the development of Lactobacillus during ensiling and the control of aerobe revitalization need to be concerned with silages made from the freeze-damaged forages.
Highlights
In boreal and temperate regions, forage crops are frequently exposed to freezing temperature during autumn, spring, and mild winter
Our results showed that Proteobacteria and Firmicute were two most abundant phyla in fresh red clover, comprising 99.2% of the microflora
Weissella played an important role in the initiation of lactic fermentation in red clover silage
Summary
In boreal and temperate regions, forage crops are frequently exposed to freezing temperature during autumn, spring, and mild winter This leads to reduction in field productivity and, problem in forage utilization due to altered physical properties after thawing (Koponen et al, 2006). It is known that a great majority of these bacteria are aerobes and will be suppressed after anaerobiosis is achieved during ensiling, some undesirable facultative aerobes, such as enterobacteria, might remain active during ensiling (McDonald et al, 1991). This brings the uncertainties of silage fermentation quality made from the FT-damaged forages. Evaluation of potential of the FT-damaged forages in silage making would be important as to supporting the current shifts toward sustainable and low-cost agricultural systems
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