AUTHOR=Chen Rong , Li Mao , Yang Jinsong , Chen Liwei , Zi Xuejuan , Zhou Hanlin , Tang Jun 

TITLE=Exploring the effect of wilting on fermentation profiles and microbial community structure during ensiling and air exposure of king grass silage

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.971426

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.971426

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>In order to better understand the effect of wilting treatment on silage, we study analyzed the fermentation quality of unwilted (CK) and wilted (WT) king grass silage, and the dynamic changes of microorganisms in silage and aerobic exposure. After 30 days of silage, WT silage significantly reduced the pH of the silage (<italic>p &lt; 0.05</italic>) and increased the contents of lactic acid and acetic acid (<italic>p &lt; 0.05</italic>), but did not reduce the content of Ammonia-N (<italic>p &gt; 0.05</italic>). Wilting treatment increased bacterial and fungal diversity during silage but decreased fungal diversity during aerobic exposure. The relative abundance of <italic>Lactococcus</italic> and <italic>Enterococcus</italic> in wilting silage increased. In the aerobic exposure stage, the relative abundance of <italic>Klebsiella</italic> decreased, but the relative abundance of <italic>Enterobacter</italic> increased in wilting treatment silage. In addition, the relative abundance of <italic>Acinetobacter</italic> and <italic>Ignatzschineria</italic> increased after 5 days of aerobic exposure. In contrast with unwilted silage, wilting treatment silage after aerobic exposure had no <italic>Candida</italic>, but the relative abundance of <italic>Wickerhamomyces</italic> increased. The results showed that wilting treatment could raise the silage quality of king grass. However, WT silage did not inhibit the reproduction of harmful microorganisms during aerobic exposure and did not significantly improve the aerobic stability of silage.</p>