AUTHOR=You Jingtao , Zhang Huan , Zhu Hongfu , Xue Yanlin , Cai Yimin , Zhang Guijie 

TITLE=Microbial Community, Fermentation Quality, and in vitro Degradability of Ensiling Caragana With Lactic Acid Bacteria and Rice Bran

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.804429

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.804429

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>This study aimed to assess the effects of microbial inoculants and growth stage on fermentation quality, microbial community, and <italic>in vitro</italic> degradability of <italic>Caragana</italic> silage from different varieties. <italic>Caragana intermedia</italic> (CI) and <italic>Caragana korshinskii</italic> (CK) harvested at the budding (BU) and blooming (BL) stages were used as raw materials to prepare silage, respectively. The silages at each growth stage were treated for ensiling alone (control), with 5% rice bran (RB), a combination of RB with commercial <italic>Lactobacillus plantarum</italic> (RB + LP), and a combination of RB with a selected strain <italic>Lactobacillus plantarum</italic> L694 (RB + L694). The results showed that the crude protein (CP) content of CI was higher than that of CK, and delay in harvest resulted in greater CP content in <italic>Caragana</italic> at BL stage. After 60 days of fermentation, the concentrations of lactic acid (LA) in the RB + L694 treatments were higher than those in control treatments (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05), while the pH, concentrations of NH<sub>3</sub>-N, neutral detergent fiber with the addition of α-amylase (aNDF) were lower than those in control treatments (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05). RB + L694 treatments could decrease acid detergent fiber (ADF) content except in CIBL. In CK silages, adding RB + L694 could reduce bacterial diversity and richness (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05). Compared with the control, RB + L694 treatment contained higher <italic>Lactobacillus</italic> and <italic>Enterobacter</italic> (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05). <italic>In vitro</italic> NDF and DM degradability (IVNDFD and IVDMD) was mostly affected by growth period, and additive RB + l694 treatment had higher IVDMD and lower IVNDFD than other treatments (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05). Consequently, the varieties, growth stages, and additives could influence the fermentation process, while the blooming stage should be selected in both <italic>Caragana</italic>. Furthermore, the results showed that RB and <italic>L. plantarum</italic> could exert a positive effect on fermentation quality of <italic>Caragana</italic> silage by shifting bacterial community composition, and RB + L694 treatments outperformed other additives.</p>