Microbial population, chemical composition and silage fermentation of native grasses growing on the Inner Mongolian Plateau. (18th July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gentu, Ge; Hou, Meiling; Liu, Tingyu; Jia, Yushan; Cai, Yimin
• Is Part Of: Grassland science. Volume 64:Number 4(2018)
• Page Start: 226
• Page End: 233
• Publication Date: 2018-07-18
• Subjects: microbial population -- native grasses -- silage fermentation; Grasslands -- Periodicals; Grasslands -- Management -- Periodicals; 578.74
• DOI: 10.1111/grs.12207
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-6961

Abstract

Abstract: Silage was made from the dominant native grasses growing on the Inner Mongolian Plateau, including Baical needlegrass ( Stipa baicalensis ), China leymus ( Leymus chinensis ), Scabrous hideseedgrass ( Cleistogenes squarrosa ), Ruthenia medic ( Melissilus ruthenicus ) and Slenderleaf pulsatilla ( Pulsatilla turczaninovii ) and their microbial populations, chemical composition and silage fermentation were studied. Before ensiling, these grasses contained per g of fresh matter (FM) 10 5 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cell‐forming units (cfu), 10 7 aerobic bacteria, 10 3 –10 5 coliform bacteria, yeasts and molds. The LAB counts increased rapidly after 2 days of fermentation and remained dominant during the fermentation process. After 7 days of ensiling, the coliform bacteria and molds were below detectable levels in all silages. The crude protein (CP) of these grasses ranged from 8.93 to 14.95% of dry matter (DM), and the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) comprised 58.29–70.05% of DM. Crude protein content of Ruthenia medic was higher and the NDF and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of Slenderleaf pulsatilla were lower than those of the other grasses. During ensiling, the organic matter, CP, ether extract, NDF and ADF contents in each kind of silage did not differ significantly ( P > 0.05). During the progression of ensiling, the lactic acid and acetic acid contents increased in all silages, while the pH decreased. At day 30, all silages had similar fermentation patterns; more than 0.58% FM lactic acid was produced and the pH was reduced below 4.44. The results suggest that the native grasses can be used to prepare good quality silages.