Effects of Different Soybean and Maize Mixed Proportions in a Strip Intercropping System on Silage Fermentation Quality

Abstract

Soybean (Glycine max Merr.), with a high nutritional value, is an important oil crop and a good protein feed crop. Due to the shortage of high-protein feed and the high import pressure on soybean, scarce high-protein feed is the main research target for improving feed quality. High-quality soybean (Qihuang 34) and high-yield silage maize (Zea mays L.) (Jingling silage 386) varieties were used as the experimental materials in this study. The silage quality and the microbial community of the mixed silage of soybean and maize were analyzed, and the compatible intercropping ratios of maize–soybean mixed silage were evaluated. This experiment designed five strip intercropping systems (SIS) in a randomized block. The intercropping row ratios of maize and soybean were 0:1 (pure soybean, S), 1:0 (pure maize, M), 1:1 (MS1), 1:3 (MS2), and 1:5 (MS3). Dry matter yield and fresh matter yield were improved in the treatments of MS1 and MS2. In the mixed silage systems of maize and soybean, with an increase in soybean proportion, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents gradually increased, but the contents of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) and dry matter (DM) reduced to different degrees (p < 0.05). Moreover, the soybean silage alone had a poor fermentation performance, as indicated by high pH, high acetic acid (AA), propionic acid (PA), butyric acid (BA), and ammonia-N (NH3-N) concentrations, and low lactic acid (LA) concentration. By contrast, the mixed silage materials were conducive to reducing the pH, PA, BA, and NH3-N, and increasing the LA content. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Weissella in the MS were higher, and the abundance of undesirable bacteria were lower than in the S. The MS2 materials had the lowest pH, the highest LA concentration, and the highest relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Weissella among the three mixed silage groups. Therefore, the mixed silage in the SIS modified the microbial communities and improved the feed fermentation quality while increasing yields. The better intercropping ratio of maize–soybean mixed silage was 1:3. These results could provide a theoretical basis for the wide application and popularization of soybean as a high-protein silage forage source.