Open AccessEffects of mixing Neolamarckia cadamba leaves on fermentation quality, microbial community of high moisture alfalfa and stylo silage
Author(s) -
Wang Cheng,
He Liwen,
Xing Yaqi,
Zhou Wei,
Yang Fuyu,
Chen Xiaoyang,
Zhang Qing
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
microbial biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.287
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 1751-7915
DOI - 10.1111/1751-7915.13429
Subject(s) - silage , fermentation , dry matter , lactic acid , fodder , moisture , water content , agronomy , chemistry , food science , biology , zoology , bacteria , genetics , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , engineering
Summary Neolamarckia cadamba is not only a fodder of high nutritional value, but also a source of natural antimicrobial agent. The silage quality of high moisture alfalfa and stylo with or without N. cadamba leaves (NCL) was investigated, and microbial community after ensiling was analysed. Results showed that the silage samples with NCL have lower pH (4.32 versus 4.88, 4.26 versus 4.71 in alfalfa and stylo silage, respectively), ammonia‐N content (67.5 versus 146, 42.2 versus 95.1 g kg −1 total N) and higher lactic acid (13.3 versus 10.4, 17.3 versus 13.6 g kg −1 dry matter), true protein N (592 versus 287, 815 versus 589 g kg −1 total N). The addition of NCL also influenced the bacterial community distribution. The relative abundance of Clostridium and Enterobacter decreased, whereas Lactobacillus abundance increased when NCL was added. In conclusion, NCL could inhibit undesirable microorganisms in high moisture alfalfa and stylo silage. Mixing with NCL could be a feasible way to improve the quality of silage.