• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1273-1283
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• 2020

Objective: This study investigated a method of preparing corn stover for Irpex lacteus (I. lacteus) treatment to improve its in vitro rumen degradability under non-sterile conditions. Methods: Corn stover was inoculated with Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum), Lactobacillus buchneri (L. buchneri), and an equal mixture of these strains, and ensiled for 0, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. After each period, a portion of the silage was sampled to assess the silage quality, and another portion of the silage was further treated with I. lacteus at 28℃ for 28 d. All the samples were analyzed for fermentation quality, chemical composition, and in vitro gas production (IVGP) as a measure of rumen fermentation capacity. Results: Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was found to improve the silage quality of the corn stover, and the corn stover silage inoculated with L. plantarum produced more lactic acid and higher IVGP than other silage groups. The I. lacteus colonies flourished in the early stage of corn stover silage, especially on the 3-d corn stover silage inoculated with both L. plantarum and L. buchneri. This led to an 18% decrease in the acid detergent lignin content, and a 49.6% increase in IVGP compared with the raw stover. Conclusion: The combination of ensiling with the mixed LAB inoculation and I. lacteus treatment provided a cost-effective method for the improvement of the IVGP of corn stover from 164.8 mL/g organic matter (OM) to 246.6 mL/g OM.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.815-825
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• 2019

Objective: To effectively use corn stover resources as animal feed, the changes in microbial population and chemical composition of corn stover during field exposure, and their silage fermentation and in vitro digestibility were studied. Methods: Corn cultivars (Jintian, Jinnuo, and Xianyu) stovers from 4 random sections of the field were harvested at the preliminary dough stage of maturity on September 2, 2015. The corn stover exposed in the field for 0, 7, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 180 d, and their silages at 60 d of ensiling were used for the analysis of microbial population, chemical composition, fermentation quality, and in vitro digestibility. Data were analyzed with a completely randomized $3{\times}6$ [corn stover cultivar $(C){\times}exposure$ d (D)] factorial treatment design. Analysis of variance was performed using SAS ver. 9.0 software (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Results: Aerobic bacteria were dominant population in fresh corn stover. After ensiling, the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) became the dominant bacteria, while other microbes decreased or dropped below the detection level. The crude protein (CP) and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) for fresh stover were 6.74% to 9.51% and 11.75% to 13.21% on a dry matter basis, respectively. After exposure, the CP and WSC contents decreased greatly. Fresh stover had a relatively low dry matter while high WSC content and LAB counts, producing silage of good quality, but the dry stover did not. Silage fermentation inhibited nutrient loss and improved the fermentation quality and in vitro digestibility. Conclusion: The results confirm that fresh corn stover has good ensiling characteristics and that it can produce silage of good quality.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1854-1863
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• 2019

Objective: To effectively use corn stover resources as animal feed, we explored the chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of corn stover during field exposure and the fermentation characteristics of silage prepared with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and cellulase. Methods: Corn ears including the cobs and shucks were harvested at the ripe stage. The corn stover was exposed in the field under natural weather conditions. Silages were prepared after 0, 2, 4, 7, 15, 30, and 60 d of exposure. Corn stover was chopped into approximately 1 to 2 cm lengths and then packed into 5 liter plastic silos. The ensiling density was $550.1{\pm}20.0g/L$ of fresh matter, and the silos were kept at room temperature ($10^{\circ}C$ to $25^{\circ}C$). Silage treatments were designed as follows: without additives (control), with LAB, with cellulase, and with LAB+ cellulase. After 45 d of fermentation, the silos were opened for chemical composition, fermentation quality and in vitro digestion analyses. Results: After harvest, corn stover contained 78.19% moisture, 9.01% crude protein (CP) and 64.54% neutral detergent fiber (NDF) on a dry matter (DM) basis. During field exposure, the DM, NDF, and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of corn stover increased, whereas the CP and water-soluble carbohydrate contents and in vitro digestibility of the DM and CP decreased (p<0.05). Compared to the control silage, cellulase-treated silage had lower (p<0.05) NDF and ADF contents. The pH values were lower in silage treated with LAB, cellulase, or LAB+cellulase, and lactic acid contents were higher (p<0.05) than those of the control. Silage treated with cellulase or LAB+cellulase improved (p<0.05) the in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD) compared to that of the control or LAB-treated silage. Conclusion: Corn stover silage should be prepared using fresh materials since stover nutrients are lost during field exposure, and LAB and cellulase can improve silage fermentation and IVDMD.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1252-1264
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• 2020

Objective: To effectively utilize crop by-product resources to address the shortage of animal feed during the dry season in Africa, the community of natural lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of corn stover and sugarcane tops and fermentation characteristics of silage were studied in Mozambique. Methods: Corn stover and sugarcane tops were obtained from agricultural field in Mozambique. Silage was prepared with LAB inoculant and cellulase enzyme and their fermentation quality and microbial population were analyzed. Results: Aerobic bacteria were the dominant population with 10⁷ colony-forming unit/g of fresh matter in both crops prior to ensiling, while 10⁴ to 10⁷ LAB became the dominant bacteria during ensiling. Lactobacillus plantarum was more than 76.30% of total isolates which dominated silage fermentation in the LAB-treated sugarcane top silages or all corn stover silages. Fresh corn stover and sugarcane tops contain 65.05% to 76.10% neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and 6.52% to 6.77% crude protein (CP) on a dry matter basis, and these nutrients did not change greatly during ensiling. Corn stover exhibits higher LAB counts and water-soluble carbohydrates content than sugarcane top, which are naturally suited for ensiling. Meanwhile, sugarcane tops require LAB or cellulase additives for high quality of silage making. Conclusion: This study confirms that both crop by-products contain certain nutrients of CP and NDF that could be well-preserved in silage, and that they are potential roughage resources that could cover livestock feed shortages during the dry season in Africa.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.1379-1389
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• 2022

Objective: This study identified the major lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains from different fermented total mixed rations (FTMRs) via metataxonomic analysis and evaluated the ability of their standard strain as ensiling inoculants for corn stover silage. Methods: The bacterial composition of eight FTMRs were analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. Corn stover was ensiled without LAB inoculation (control) or with 1×10⁶ cfu/g LAB standard strain (Lactobacillus vaginalis, Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus helveticus, or Lactobacillus paralimentarius) selected from the FTMRs or 10 g/t commercial silage inoculant (CSI) around 25℃ for 56 days. For each inoculation, a portion of the silage was sampled to analyze ensiling characteristics at time intervals of 0, 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 days, gas production (GP), microbial crude protein and volatile fatty acids as the measurements of rumen fermentation characteristics were evaluated in vitro with the silages of 56 days after 72 h incubation. Results: Lactobacillus covered >85% relative abundance of all FTMRs, in which L. pontis, L. vaginalis, L. reuteri, L. helveticus, and L. paralimentarius showed >4% in specific FTMRs. CSI, L. helveticus, and L. paralimentarius accelerated the decline of silage pH. Silage inoculated with L. paralimentarius and CSI produced more lactic acid the early 14 days. Silage inoculated with L. paralimentarius produced less acetic acid and butyric acid. For the in vitro rumen fermentation, silage inoculated with CSI produced more potential GP, isobutyric acid, and isovaleric acid; silage inoculated with L. helveticus produced more potential GP and isovaleric acid, silage inoculated with L. paralimentarius or L. reuteri produced more potential GP only. Conclusion: The standard strain L. paralimentarius (DSM 13238) is a promising ensiling inoculant for corn stover silage. The findings provide clues on strategies to select LAB to improve the quality of silage.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.36-47
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• 2021

Objective: This study determined the optimal ratio of whole plant corn silage (WPCS) to corn stover (stems+leaves) silage (CSS) (WPCS:CSS) to reach the greatest profit of dairy farmers and evaluated its consequences with corn available for other purposes, enteric methane production and milk nitrogen efficiency (MNE) at varying milk production levels. Methods: An optimization model was developed. Chemical composition, rumen undegradable protein and metabolizable energy (ME) of WPCS and CSS from 4 cultivars were determined to provide data for the model. Results: At production levels of 0, 10, 20, and 30 kg milk/cow/d, the WPCS:CSS to maximize the profit of dairy farmers was 16:84, 22:78, 44:56, and 88:12, respectively, and the land area needed to grow corn plants was 4.5, 31.4, 33.4, and 30.3 ha, respectively. The amount of corn available (ton DM/ha/yr) for other purposes saved from this land area decreased with higher producing cows. However, compared with high producing cows (30 kg/d milk), more low producing cows (10 kg/d milk) and more land area to grow corn and soybeans was needed to produce the same total amount of milk. Extra land is available to grow corn for a higher milk production, leading to more corn available for other purposes. Increasing ME content of CSS decreased the land area needed, increased the profit of dairy farms and provided more corn available for other purposes. At the optimal WPCS:CSS, MNE and enteric methane production was greater, but methane production per kg milk was lower, for high producing cows. Conclusion: The WPCS:CSS to maximize the profit for dairy farms increases with decreased milk production levels. At a fixed total amount of milk being produced, high producing cows increase corn available for other purposes. At the optimal WPCS:CSS, methane emission intensity is smaller and MNE is greater for high producing cows.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.221-232
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• 1999

Dry matter yield and ear percent are commonly considered the most important factors for evaluating silage corn(Zea mays L.) hybrids for silage production. But quality of stover as well as forage production in important in identification of hybrids. The objective of this study was to evaluate nutritional value of stover, ear and whole plant from eight corn hybrids for silage at two dates of planting. In content of fiber components(ADF, NDF, ADL, hemicellulose and cellulose) from stover, ear and whole plant samples, optimum planting corn was lower than late planting one(P<0.01). Differences(P<0.01) in the content of fiber components in stover and whole plant were observed among the corn hybrids. Differences between different planting dates in TDN and $NE_1$ were detected in the stover and whole plant samples(P<0.05). Differences among the corn hybrids in TDN and $NE_1$ were also observed in stover, ear and whole plant samples. TDN and $NE_1$ of 'G4624', 'P3352' and 'P3394' for whole plant were higher than those of the other corn hybrids. ln vitro dry matter digestibility(IVDMD) at optimum planting date was higher than that of late(P<0.05), and there also were significant differences among the corn hybrids. Correlation coefficients for whole plant IVDMD with NDF, ADF, hemicellulose, and cellulose were $-0.82^{**}$, $-0.71^{**}$, $-0.63^{**}$, and $-0.69^{**}$, respectively. Results of this study indicate that optimum planting of corn resulted in increased quality of silage corn. Differences among corn hybrid, particularly, in nutritive value of stover and whole plant were also observed. Therefore, the nutritional value of stover and whole plant may be important in assessing the corn hybrids for silage.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.291-298
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• 1996

This study was carried out at Crop Experiment Station in 1993 and 1994. The objective of this study was finding out variation of growth and yield of corn according to maturity. Hybrids of corn used in this study were early maturing corn Comet80, Elite90, Royaldent IOOT, Royaldent T$\times$llO, P3525, P3394, medium maturing corn Royaldent 120T. and late maturing corn Jungbuok, P3144W. G4743. Stalk height, leaf number, ear weight, stover weight, and TDN yield of early maturing corn were linearly increased with prolonged maturity in 1993 growing season. Leaf number, and stover weight of early and late maturing corn were linearly increased with prolonged maturity in 1994 growing season. But ear weight of late manuring corn was not increased as much as that of early manuring corn with prolonged maturity. Increase of total DM and TDN yield of late maturing corn was due to stover weight increase compared with ear weight increase of early maturing corn. Leaf number and stover weight were highly correlated with silk (Growing Degree Days) GDD.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.620-631
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• 2015

A total of 59 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains were isolated from corn stover silage. According to phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences and recA gene polymerase chain reaction amplification, these LAB isolates were identified as five species: Lactobacillus (L.) plantarum subsp. plantarum, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Enterococcus mundtii, Weissella cibaria and Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides, respectively. Those strains were also screened for antimicrobial activity using a dual-culture agar plate assay. Based on excluding the effects of organic acids and hydrogen peroxide, two L. plantarum subsp. plantarum strains ZZU 203 and 204, which strongly inhibited Salmonella enterica ATCC $43971^T$, Micrococcus luteus ATCC $4698^T$ and Escherichia coli ATCC $11775^T$ were selected for further research on sensitivity of the antimicrobial substance to heat, pH and protease. Cell-free culture supernatants of the two strains exhibited strong heat stability (60 min at $100^{\circ}C$), but the antimicrobial activity was eliminated after treatment at $121^{\circ}C$ for 15 min. The antimicrobial substance remained active under acidic condition (pH 2.0 to 6.0), but became inactive under neutral and alkaline condition (pH 7.0 to 9.0). In addition, the antimicrobial activities of these two strains decreased remarkably after digestion by protease K. These results preliminarily suggest that the desirable antimicrobial activity of strains ZZU 203 and 204 is the result of the production of a bacteriocin-like substance, and these two strains with antimicrobial activity could be used as silage additives to inhibit proliferation of unwanted microorganism during ensiling and preserve nutrients of silage. The nature of the antimicrobial substances is being investigated in our laboratory.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.183-189
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• 2023

It is widely known that forage corn is one of the most important crops in the production of silage and green chops during the summer months. In this study, the characteristics and the productivity of Kwangpyeongok, AGR 41, and Nero IT corn cultivars were evaluated in the regions of Jeju and Cheonan, Korea between 2021 and 2022. In each year, different corn cultivars were sown in different parts of the country on April 7 in Jeju and May 3 in Cheonan. The yield of three cultivars, Kwangpyeongok, AGR 41, and Nero IT were measured at the yellow-ripening stage, including the leaves and stems (Stover) and corn grain. Kwangpyeongok stover and total dry matter (DM) yields were slightly higher in Cheonan than in Jeju over the past two years. The quantity of corn cultivated in all cultivated areas was similar. The average yield of AGR 41, corn quantity and total DM were slightly higher in Jeju than in Cheonan. In terms of stover yield, and total dry matter content of the Nero IT cultivar cultivated in Jeju had a slightly higher yield than the cultivar cultivated in Cheonan. Based on this study, all cultivars can show some variations but not too much in terms of growth productivity and distinct characteristics depending on their location. Overall, AGR 41, and Nero IT cultivars in Jeju exhibit slightly higher levels of productivity than the same cultivars in Cheonan.