A lower cost method of preparing corn stover for Irpex lacteus treatment by ensiling with lactic acid bacteria

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated a method of preparing corn stover for Irpex lacteus (<i>I. lacteus</i>) treatment to improve its <i>in vitro</i> rumen degradability under non-sterile conditions.Methods: Corn stover was inoculated with <i>Lactobacillus plantarum</i> (<i>L. plantarum</i>), <i>Lactobacillus buchneri</i> (<i>L. buchneri</i>), 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>I. lacteus</i> at 28°C for 28 d. All the samples were analyzed for fermentation quality, chemical composition, and <i>in vitro</i> 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 <i>L. plantarum</i> produced more lactic acid and higher IVGP than other silage groups. The <i>I. lacteus</i> colonies flourished in the early stage of corn stover silage, especially on the 3-d corn stover silage inoculated with both <i>L. plantarum</i> and <i>L. buchneri.</i> 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>I. lacteus</i> 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.