• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.490-496
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• 2005

Ten 18.5-month old Holstein steers were allocated into two diet groups of five and fed either concentrates as control group or potato by-products based silage (PBS) as experimental group for six months to investigate the effect of PBS on growth performance, carcass characteristics and fatty acid composition of carcass fats. The PBS diet consisted, in a DM basis, of 74.5% PBS, 16% hay, and 9.5% soybean milk residue (SMR). The control diet consisted, in a DM basis, of 82.5% concentrates and 17.5% hay. There were no significant differences in the overall average daily gain (ADG), dry matter intake (DMI), feed efficiency, yield score and meat quality score of dressed carcass between the two diet groups. There were no statistical differences in DM, crude protein (CP), and ether extract (EE) of beef and melting point of all adipose tissues from steers fed both diets. The PBS-fed steers tended to have lower Warner Bratzler shear (WBS) values than in the concentrate-fed steers (13.0 vs. 17.7 lb, p<0.1). At both sampling times 3 and 6 months of feeding period, PBS-fed steers had higher proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially linoleic (C18:2) acids in subcutaneous fat than in control group (p<0.05). PBS-fed steers had significantly higher proportions of PUFA, especially C18:2 fatty acids than in concentrate-fed steers in carcass fats (p<0.05). In conclusion, feeding PBS to fattening steers has shown to have the same potential as concentrate feeding in terms of effect on the growth performance, feed efficiency, and carcass characteristics. Interestingly, PBS also seems preferable to concentrates because it increased the proportion of C18:2 fatty acid composition of carcass fats which is valuable for beef consumers.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.1162-1173
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• 2022

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the fermentation profiles, bacterial community and predicted metabolic characteristics of Sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense Stapf.) during ensiling. Methods: First-cutting Sudangrass was harvested at the vegetative stage and ensiled in laboratory-scale silos (1 L capacity). Triplicate silos were sampled after 1, 3, 7, 15, 30, and 60 days of ensiling, respectively. The bacterial communities on day 3 and 60 were assessed through high-throughput sequencing technology, and 16S rRNA-gene predicted functional profiles were analyzed according to the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes using Tax4Fun. Results: The Sudangrass silages showed good fermentation quality, indicated by higher lactic acid contents, and lower pH, butyric acid and ammonia nitrogen contents. The dominant genus Lactococcus on day 3 was replaced by Lactobacillus on day 60. The metabolism of amino acid, energy, cofactors and vitamins was restricted, and metabolism of nucleotide and carbohydrate was promoted after ensiling. The 1-phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase of bacterial community seemed to play important roles in stimulating the lactic acid fermentation, and the promotion of arginine deiminase could help lactic acid bacteria to tolerate the acidic environment. Conclusion: High-throughput sequencing technology combined with 16S rRNA gene-predicted functional analyses revealed the differences during the early and late stages of Sudangrass ensiling not only for distinct bacterial community but also for specific functional metabolites. The results could provide a comprehensive insight into bacterial community and metabolic characteristics to further improve the silage quality.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.325-325
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• 2022

In order to developing high-quality rice varieties and processing varieties, systematic and stable evaluation of physicochemical properties is required for breeding lines. In this study, we compared the quality characteristics evaluation results of rice breeding lines for cooked rice, special rice, and whole crop silage rice adapted to central plain region (Suwon) in order to use as basic data for future rice variety development. Brown rice length/width ratio, head rice ratio, protein content, amylose content, alkali digestion value(ADV) and Toyo value were analyzed to evaluate the quality characteristics of yield trial lines cultivated in Suwon for four years (2017-2020). Brown rice length/width ratio, head rice ratio, protein content, ADV and Toyo values showed significant differences by year, but there was no significant difference in amylose content (p<0.05), which showed little environmental variation. The head rice ratio and Toyo value showed an increasing trend, while the protein content showed a decreasing trend. However, the protein content was the highest in 2020, which is thought to be owing to little sunlight hours due to heavy rainfall in 2020. The protein content of whole crop silage rice was 8.1%, which was significantly higher than that of other lines (p<0.05). Toyo value of medium-maturing and early-maturing lines were 67.6 and 73.7%, respectively, and the Toyo value of medium-maturing lines was higher than that of the early-maturing lines (p<0.05). In correlation analysis among the quality characteristics of the rice lines for cooked rice, significant positive correlations were detected between Toyo value and head rice ratio, amylose content, ADV, and a negative correlation was observed between Toyo value and protein content (p<0.05).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1278-1284
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• 2017

Objective: To assess the potency of calcium propionate (CAP) used as silage additive, an experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of CAP on the nitrogen transformation, fermentation quality and aerobic stability of alfalfa silages. Methods: Alfalfa was ensiled with four levels of CAP (5, 10, 15, and 20 g/kg of fresh weight [FW]) in laboratory silos for 30 days. After opening, the silages were analyzed for the chemical and microbiological characteristics, and subjected to an aerobic stability test. Results: The increasing proportion of CAP did not affect pH, lactic acid (LA) concentrations and yeast counts, while linearly decreased counts of enterobacteria (p = 0.029), molds (p<0.001) and clostridia (p<0.001), and concentrations of acetic acid (p<0.001), propionic acid (p<0.001), butyric acid (p<0.001), and ethanol (p = 0.007), and quadratically (p = 0.001) increased lactic acid bacteria counts. With increasing the proportion of CAP, the dry matter (DM) loss (p<0.001), free amino acid N (p<0.001), ammonia N (p = 0.004), and non-protein N (p<0.001) contents were linearly reduced, whereas DM (p = 0.048), water soluble carbohydrate (p<0.001) and peptide N (p<0.001) contents were linearly increased. The highest Flieg's point was found in CAP10 (75.9), represented the best fermentation quality. All silages treated with CAP improved aerobic stability as indicated by increased stable hours compared with control. Conclusion: The addition of CAP can suppress the undesirable microorganisms during ensiling and exposure to air, thereby improving the fermentation quality and aerobic stability as well as retarding the proteolysis of alfalfa silage. It is suggested that CAP used as an additive is recommended at a level of 10 g/kg FW.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2018

This study was carried out to estimate the effect of selected inoculants on chemical compositions and fermentation characteristics of rye silage. Rye was harvested at dough stage and divided into 5 treatments, following: No additives (CON); L. plantarum R48-27 (LP27); L. buchneri R4-26 (LB26); Mixture of LP27 and LB26 at 1:1 ratio (MIX); and L. buchneri (LB). The rye forage was ensiled into 10 L bucket silo for 100 days. The contents of NDF and ADF were lowest (P<0.05) in LB26. The pH in LB26, MIX, and LB were lower (P<0.05) than CON and LP27. Lactate content in LB was higher (P<0.05) than the others, while acetate content in LB26 and LB were higher (P<0.05) than that in CON and LP27. Lactate to acetate ratio was highest (P<0.05) in LB, but lowest in LB26. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count in LB was higher (P<0.05) than that in CON, while yeast count in CON was lower than in all silages applied inoculants. In conclusion, silages inoculated with LB26 could improve potentially the aerobic stability caused by increases of acetate and propionate concentrations.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.1123-1132
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• 2015

Winter wheat is a suitable crop to be ensiled for animal feed and China has the largest planting area of this crop in the world. During the ensiling process, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play the most important role in the fermentation. We investigated the natural population of LAB in whole-crop wheat (WCW) and examined the quality of whole-crop wheat silage (WCWS) with and without LAB inoculants. Two Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum strains, Zhengzhou University 1 (ZZU 1) selected from corn and forage and grass 1 (FG 1) from a commercial inoculant, were used as additives. The silages inoculated with LAB strains (ZZU 1 and FG 1) were better preserved than the control, with lower pH values (3.5 and 3.6, respectively) (p<0.05) and higher contents of lactic acid (37.5 and 34.0 g/kg of fresh matter (FM), respectively) (p<0.05) than the control. Sixty LAB strains were isolated from fresh material and WCWS without any LAB inoculation. These LAB strains were divided into the following four genera and six species based on their phenotypic, biochemical and phylogenetic characteristics: Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides, Leuconostoc citreum, Weissella cibaria, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactobacillus buchneri, and Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum. However, the prevalent LAB, which was predominantly heterofermentative (66.7%), consisted of Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides, Leuconostoc citreum, Weissella cibaria, and Lactobacillus buchneri. This study revealed that most of isolated LAB strains from control WCWS were heterofermentative and could not grow well at low pH condition; the selective inoculants of Lactobacillus strains, especially ZZU 1, could improve WCWS quality significantly.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.254-263
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• 2020

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of wilting and additives on the fermentation quality, structural and non-structural carbohydrate composition of mulberry silages. Methods: The selected lactic acid bacteria strains Lactobacillus plantarum 'LC279063' (L1), commercial inoculant Gaofuji (GF), and Trichoderma viride cellulase (CE) were used as additives for silage preparation. Silage treatments were designed as control (CK), L1, GF, or CE under three wilting rates, that is wilting for 0, 2, or 4 hours (h). After ensiling for 30 days, the silages were analyzed for the chemical and fermentation characteristics. Results: The results showed that wilting had superior effects on increasing the non-structural carbohydrate concentration and degrading the structural carbohydrate. After ensiling for 30 days, L1 generally had a higher fermentation quality than other treatments, indicated by the lower pH value, acetic acid, propionic acid and ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) content, and the higher lactic acid, water soluble carbohydrate, glucose, galactose, sucrose, and cellobiose concentration (p<0.05) at any wilting rate. Wilting could increase the ratio of lactic acid/acetic acid and decrease the content of NH₃-N. Conclusion: The results confirmed that wilting degraded the structural carbohydrate and increased the non-structural carbohydrate; and L1 exhibited better properties in improving fermentation quality and maintaining a high non-structural carbohydrates composition compared with the other treatments.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.739-747
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• 2016

The rational utilization of crop straw as a raw material for natural gas production is of economic significance. In order to increase the efficiency of biogas production from agricultural straw, seasonal restrictions must be overcome. Therefore, the potential for biogas production via anaerobic straw digestion was assessed by exposing fresh, silage, and dry yellow corn straw to cow dung liquid extract as a nitrogen source. The characteristics of anaerobic corn straw digestion were comprehensively evaluated by measuring the pH, gas production, chemical oxygen demand, methane production, and volatile fatty acid content, as well as applying a modified Gompertz model and high-throughput sequencing technology to the resident microbial community. The efficiency of biogas production from fresh straw (433.8 ml/g) was higher than that of production from straw silage and dry yellow straw (46.55 ml/g and 68.75 ml/g, respectively). The cumulative biogas production from fresh straw, silage straw, and dry yellow straw was 365 l^-1 g^-1 VS, 322 l^-1 g^-1 VS, and 304 l^-1 g^-1 VS, respectively, whereas cumulative methane production was 1,426.33%, 1,351.35%, and 1,286.14%, respectively, and potential biogas production was 470.06 ml^-1 g^-1 VS, 461.73 ml^-1 g^-1 VS, and 451.76 ml^-1 g^-1 VS, respectively. Microbial community analysis showed that the corn straw was mainly metabolized by acetate-utilizing methanogens, with Methanosaeta as the dominant archaeal community. These findings provide important guidance to the biogas industry and farmers with respect to rational and efficient utilization of crop straw resources as material for biogas production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.812-815
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• 2005

This study was conducted to see the influence of additives and fermentation periods on Mott grass silage (MGS) characteristics, its chemical composition and to compare the digestion kinetics of Mott grass (MG) and MGS in Nili buffaloes. Mott grass chopped with a locally manufactured chopper was ensiled using two additives, cane molasses and crushed corn grains each at 2, 4 and 6% of forage DM for 30 and 40 days in laboratory silos. The pH, lactic acid concentration, dry matter (DM), crude protein and fiber fractions of MGS were not affected by the type or level of additive and fermentation periods. The non-significant pH lactic acid concentration, and chemical composition of MGS indicated that the both molasses and crushed corn were utilized at similar rate for the growth of lactic acid bacteria and production of organic acids. The MG ensiled with molasses at 2% of fodder DM for 30 days was screened out for in situ digestion kinetics in Nili buffaloes. Ruminal DM and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) degradabilities of MGS were significantly (p<0.05) higher than that of MG. The DM and NDF rate of degradation, lag time and extent of degradation was nonsignificant between MGS and MG. The higher ruminal degradation of DM and NDF of MGS than MG was probably a reflection of fermentation of MG during ensilation that improved its degradability by improving the availability of easily degradable structural polysaccharides to ruminal microbial population. The results in the present study have indicated that MG ensiled with either 2% molasses or 2% crushed corn for 30 days has better nutritive value for buffalo.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.479-485
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• 2012

In order to develop methods that would enlarge the feed resources in Tibet, mixtures of hulless-barley straw and tall fescue were ensiled with four levels (0, 10%, 20%, and 30% of fresh weight) of wet hulless-barley distillers' grains (WHDG). The silos were opened after 7, 14 or 30 d of ensiling, and the fermentation characteristics and nutritive quality of the silages were analyzed. WHDG addition significantly improved fermentation quality, as indicated by the faster decline of pH, rapid accumulation of lactic acid (LA) (p<0.05), and lower butyric acid content and ammonia-N/total N (p<0.05) as compared with the control. These results indicated that WHDG additions not only effectively inhibited the activity of aerobic bacteria, but also resulted in faster and greatly enhanced LA production and pH value decline, which restricted activity of undesirable bacteria, resulting in more residual water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) in the silages. The protein content of WHDG-containing silages were significantly higher (p<0.05) higher than that of the control. In conclusion, the addition of WHDG increased the fermentation and nutritive quality of straw-grass silage, and this effect was more marked when the inclusion rate of WHDG was greater than 20%.