Table 3.
Effects of dual-purpose inoculants on fermentation characteristics and microbial count of corn silage ensiled for 252 d.
| Item | Treatment 1 | SEM | p-Value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CON | 5M | 6M | MIX | |||
| Fermentation characteristics | ||||||
| pH | 3.73 a | 3.68 b | 3.68 b | 3.67 b | 0.018 | 0.008 |
| Ammonia-N, g/kg DM | 0.88 | 0.81 | 0.78 | 0.83 | 0.040 | 0.061 |
| Lactate, g/kg DM | 78.3 c | 86.2 b c | 100.1 a | 97.5 a b | 4.798 | 0.001 |
| Acetate, g/kg DM | 49.7 c | 77.3 b | 87.3 b | 119.8 a | 12.15 | <0.001 |
| Propionate, g/kg DM | ND 2 | ND | ND | ND | N/A | N/A |
| Butyrate, g/kg DM | ND | ND | ND | ND | N/A | N/A |
| Lactate: acetate | 1.58 a | 1.12 b | 1.15 b | 0.81 c | 0.065 | <0.001 |
| Microbial count, log10 cfu/g | ||||||
| Lactic acid bacteria | 7.81 b | 8.78 a | 8.83 a | 8.77 a | 0.109 | <0.001 |
| Yeast | 5.57 a | 5.15 b | 5.18 b | 5.13 b | 0.164 | 0.012 |
| Mold | 3.68 a | 3.32 b | 3.23 b | 3.21 b | 0.097 | <0.001 |
a–c: Means in the same row with different superscripts differ significantly (p < 0.05). 1: CON, corn silage applied without inoculant; 5M, corn silage applied with Lactobacillus brevis 5M2; 6M, corn silage applied with Lactobacillus buchneri 6M1; MIX, corn silage applied with the mixture of L. brevis 5M2 and L. buchneri 6M1 at 1:1 ratio. 2: ND, not detected.