Abstract
Our objective was to determine the effects of two strains of obligate heterofermentative bacteria, alone or in combination, on the fermentation profile, gas production kinetics, chemical composition, and aerobic stability of sugarcane silage. A plot of sugarcane was manually harvested, mechanically chopped and treated with: distilled water (5 mL kg–1; Control), Lentilactobacillus hilgardii CNCM I-4785 [3 × 105 colony-forming units (cfu) g–1; LH], Lentilactobacillus buchneri NCIMB 40788 (3 × 105 cfu g–1; LB), and LH+LB (1.5 × 105 cfu g–1 of each strain). Treated forages were packed into 1.96-L gas-tight silos (0.40 porosity) and stored at 25 ± 1.5°C for 70 days (4 replicates per treatment). All heterolactic inoculants were effective to increase acetic acid concentration and inhibit yeast metabolism, as treated silages had lower formation of ethanol, ethyl esters and gas during fermentation. Lower fungal development spared soluble carbohydrates, consequently resulting in silages with higher in vitro digestibility. Nevertheless, L. buchneri was the most effective strain to extend the aerobic stability of sugarcane silage (based on both temperature and pH rise). The use of L. buchneri alone or in combination with L. hilgardii, applied at 3 × 105 cfu g–1, is a feasible strategy to inhibit yeast metabolism and increase the nutritional quality of sugarcane silage.
Highlights
In tropical areas, sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) crop is characterized by a high dry matter (DM) yield (>30 t DM/ha) within one harvest and a suitable nutritive value at maturity (48 h DM digestibility > 600 g kg−1; Daniel et al, 2013b), enabling high animal stocking rates
Yeast counts were reduced in silages inoculated with heterolactic strains, but LH had slightly higher count of yeasts than silage inoculated with L. buchneri alone or in combination with L. hilgardii (P < 0.01)
In the current study we showed that applying obligate heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB), alone or in combination, consistently improved sugarcane silage preservation, by increasing acetic acid, inhibiting yeasts, decreasing ethanol and gas loss, sparing soluble carbohydrates (SC) and improving in vitro digestibility
Summary
Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) crop is characterized by a high dry matter (DM) yield (>30 t DM/ha) within one harvest and a suitable nutritive value at maturity (48 h DM digestibility > 600 g kg−1; Daniel et al, 2013b), enabling high animal stocking rates. A feasible strategy to reduce yeast activity in sugarcane silage, both during storage and feedout phases, is the application of chemical or microbial additives (Pedroso et al, 2011). Both chemical additives with antifungal power and obligate heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are effective to protect sugarcane silage against yeast detrimental effects (Daniel et al, 2015b); whereas bacterial inoculants are cheaper than chemical additives (Kung et al, 2003)
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