Effects of aerobic exposure on quality and microbial composition in mixed silage of red clover and Italian ryegrass
YAO Yunqiu
WANG Rong
XIONG Ping
AN Qiwei
DENG Caihuan
LÜ Xianfu
JIANG Hua
XU Liuxing
Abstract：This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of aerobic exposure on the microbial composition and protein degradation of the mixed silage of red clover and Italian ryegrass.The experiment was divided into five treatment groups(based on fresh weight),with the proportions of Italian ryegrass and red clover being 100∶0(R0 group),75∶25(R25 group),50∶50(R50 group),75∶25(R75 group),and 0∶100(R100 group).Each group had three replicates.After 60 days of anaerobic ensiling,the silage was subjected to seven days of aerobic exposure.The results showed that group R50 had the highest lactic acid(LA)content,while butyric acid(BA)content,ammonia nitrogen(NH3-N)content,and pH value were the lowest.The counts of aerobic bacteria and yeast in group R50 were significantly lower than those in other groups(P<0.05).Group R75 exhibited the highest carboxypeptidase(CA)activity.At the genus level,groups R0,R25,R50,R75,and R100 uniquely contained 12,2,5,5,and 5 operational taxonomic units(OTU),respectively,while 22 OTU were shared among all five groups.The relative abundance of was the highest in the groups R25 and R50,whereas the relative abundance of lactic acid bacteria was lower in group R50.Among all environmental factors,acidic protease(AP)activity had the least influence on bacterial relative abundance.The study shows that considering both fermentation quality and aerobic stability,a 50∶50 mixture of Italian ryegrass and red clover is recommended for mixed silage.
Keywords：aerobic exposurered cloverlactic acid bacteriaorganic acids
Publication Date：2025-12-16
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-31(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 121-125 )