The Effect of Bacterial Inoculants and a Chemical Preservative on the Fermentation and Aerobic Stability of Whole-crop Cereal Silages

Three microorganisms and one chemical preservative were tested for their effects on the fermentation and aerobic stability of whole-crop wheat, sorghum and maize silages. Wheat at the early dough stage, sorghum at the late milk stage and maize at the one-third milk line stage were harvested and ensiled in 1.5-l anaerobic jars untreated or after the following treatments: control (no additives); Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) at $1.0{\times}10^6$ colony-forming units (CFU)/g of fresh forage; L. buchneri (LB) at $1.0{\times}10^6$ CFU/g; Propionibacterium acidipropionici (PA) at $1.0{\times}10^6$ CFU/g; and a formic acid-based preservative (FAP) at 3 ml/kg of fresh forage weight. Three jars per treatment were sampled on d 90 after ensiling, for chemical and microbiological analysis. At the end of the ensiling period, 90 d, the silages were subjected to an aerobic stability test lasting 5 d. In this test, $CO_2$ produced during aerobic exposure was measured along with chemical and microbiological parameters which serve as spoilage indicators. The silages inoculated with LP had higher concentration of lactic acid compared with the controls and the other treated silages (p<0.05). The controls and LP-inoculated silages spoiled upon aerobic exposure faster than LB, PA and FAP-treated silages. The controls and LP-inoculated silages spoiled upon aerobic exposure faster than LB, PA and FAP-treated silages due to more $CO_2$ production (p<0.05) in these two groups and development of yeasts unlike the other groups. In the experiment, the silages treated with LB, PA and FAP were stable under aerobic conditions. However, the numbers of yeasts was higher in the LP-inoculated wheat, sorghum and maize silages compared with the LB, PA and FAP-treated silages. The LB, PA and FAP improved the aerobic stability of the silages by causing more extensive heterolactic fermentation that resulted in the silages with high levels of acetic and propionic acid. The use of LB, PA and FAP as silage additives can improve the aerobic stability of whole-crop wheat, sorghum and maize silages by inhibition of yeast activity.