Abstract
In Okinawa, rate of increase in gross agricultural production during 2011‒2016 was the highest in Japan and sales of calves ranked fourth throughout Japan. Raising cattle by feeding high quality silage is beneficial both nutritionally and economically. However, little is known about lactic acid bacteria (LAB) present in silages made from tropical grass in Okinawa. To improve understanding of fermentation processes in silages, the LAB present in a range of silages (Digitaria eriantha, Megathyrsus maximus, Chloris gayana, Urochloa mutica, Sorghum sp. and Zea mays) were identified. All isolates were Gram-positive and mainly catalase-negative bacteria. According to morphological and biochemical characters, 37 isolates were divided into 16 groups and on the basis of 16S rDNA sequence analysis, 7 were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum, 3 as L. paraplantarum, 1 as L. brevis, 1 as L. acidipiscis, 3 as L. casei, 1 as L. fermentum, 9 as Weissella paramesenteroides, 1 as W. kimchii, 5 as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, 2 as Lactococcus garvieae and 4 as Pediococcus pentosaceus. Some of this wide variety of LAB in Okinawan silage could be beneficial for improving quality of silages and further studies are planned to determine benefits of inoculating forage with particular strains at ensiling.
Highlights
Materials and MethodsIn Okinawa, the southernmost part of Japan, rate of increase in gross agricultural production between 2011 and 2016 was the highest in Japan
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are the key to producing high quality silage (Cai 2001) because good preservation depends on the production of sufficient organic acids to inhibit the growth of undesirable microorganisms, such as spoilage bacteria, food-borne pathogens, yeasts and molds, under anaerobic conditions (Li and Nishino 2011; Dunière et al 2013)
Silages made from tropical grasses have higher pH than silages from cool temperate grasses due to lower lactic acid or higher acetic acid and butyric acid concentrations (Panditharatne et al 1986)
Summary
Materials and MethodsIn Okinawa, the southernmost part of Japan, rate of increase in gross agricultural production between 2011 and 2016 was the highest in Japan. At present, little is known about LAB related to silages made of tropical grass grown in Okinawa (Hanagasaki and Cai 2009). Round bale silages from: (i) Transvala grass; (ii) a mixture of Rhodes grass and Para grass; (iii) sorghum; and (iv) corn were obtained in the field at several sites in the Okinawa Prefecture (Figure 1). The process of producing round bale silage was as follows: Transvala forage was mowed, aerated using a tedder rake and allowed to dry for 1 day.
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