Abstract
The microbiota and fermentation quality of cassava foliage (CF) ensiled in the absence of additive (CK), or the presence of citric acid (CA), malic acid (MA), and their combination with a Lactobacillus plantarum strain (CAL and MAL)were investigated. These additives reduced (P < 0.05) the pH, butyric acid, and ammonia-N contents but increased (P < 0.05) the lactic acid content, and CAL and MAL showed similar remarkable effects. Paenibacillus (mean, 27.81%) and Bacillus (mean, 16.04%) were the predominant strains in CF silage. The addition of CA or MAL increased the abundance of Paenibacillus (25.81–52.28% and 47.97%, respectively), and the addition of MA increased the abundance of Bacillus (15.76–32.48%) compared with the CK group. Moreover, CAL and MAL increased the abundances of the potentially desirable bacteria Cellulosimicrobium (CAL 0–12.73%), Hyphomicrobium (0–7.90% and 8.94%), and Oceanobacillus (0–8.37% and 3.08%) compared with the CK group. These findings suggested that CA and MA could enhance the silage quality of CF, and their combinations with Lactobacillus plantarum were more effective.
Highlights
As a major food or bio-energy crop, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is widely cultivated in tropical areas, cassava industry in China has been rapidly developed in recent years, and the total production of cassava foliage (CF) in China is 3,000,000 tons per year (Li et al, 2019a,c)
The levels of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were higher compared with previous reports, while the contents of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), and ether extracts (EE) were lower or comparable to previous reports (Régnier et al, 2013; Li et al, 2019d)
A water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content (5.24%) lower than 6–7% DM is the theoretical threshold for well-preserved silage (Smith, 1962), and higher contents higher may lead to poor quality of CF silage
Summary
As a major food or bio-energy crop, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is widely cultivated in tropical areas, cassava industry in China has been rapidly developed in recent years, and the total production of cassava foliage (CF) in China is 3,000,000 tons per year (Li et al, 2019a,c). The use of cassava by-products for animal feed is one of the alternative approaches to overcome this problem (Napasirth et al, 2015; Li et al, 2019b). CF is widely used in animal feed in many countries, and it has great potential for improving the production performance of animals. Bacterial Diversity of Cassava Foliage Silage (Régnier et al, 2013; Napasirth et al, 2015; Li et al, 2017a, 2020). Its supply decreases in the winter, which needs proper pretreatment for long-term preservation
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