Microbial communities and natural fermentation of corn silages prepared with farm bunker-silo in Southwest China

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 265; pp. 282 - 290
• Main Authors: Guan, Hao, Yan, Yanhong, Li, Xiaoling, Li, Xiaomei, Shuai, Yang, Feng, Guangyan, Ran, Qifan, Cai, Yimin, Li, Ying, Zhang, Xinquan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2018
• Subjects: Acetobacter; bacteria; Bradyrhizobium; Bunker-silo silage; China; Climatic factor; climatic factors; Corn; corn silage; correlation; epiphytes; farms; fermentation; Fermentation quality; humidity; lactic acid; Lactobacillus; microbial communities; Natural microbial community; Pediococcus; rain; raw materials; silage making; temperature; Weissella; China; Bunker-silo silage; Corn; Climatic factor; Fermentation quality; Natural microbial community
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.06.018

[Display omitted] •This is the first microbiome study of corn silage in hot and humid area.•Lactobacillu and Acetobacter spp. are dominant bacteria after ensiling.•Lactobacillus and Pediococcus spp. improve silage fermentation.•Acetobacter and Bradyrhizobium spp. are correlated to acetic acid produced.•Rainfall and humidity affect the microbial community of corn silage. This study analyzed the variation of microbial communities, their achieved fermentation quality, and the association between microbial diversity and environmental factors after ensiling of 96 samples prepared with bunker-silo in Southwest China. Most of natural corn silages achieved good fermentation, e.g., low pH value (<4.2) and high levels of lactic acid (36.26–79.83 mg/g DM). Weissella species were the dominant epiphytic bacteria in raw material, while Lactobacillus and Acetobacter species were prevalent in silages. Natural Lactobacillus and Pediococcus species produced more lactic acid during ensiling, while the production of acetic acid was highly positively correlated with both Acetobacter and Bradyrhizobium species. Rainfall and humidity affected community of epiphytic bacteria on the corn material, and the temperature affected richness of bacterial species during ensiling. The results confirmed that microbial community of silages in hot and humid area is unique and climatic factors ultimately affect the fermentation quality through influencing microbial community.