Effect of Lactobacillus buchneri LN4637 and Lactobacillus buchneri LN40177 on the aerobic stability, fermentation products, and microbial populations of corn silage under farm conditions.

This study determined the efficacy of the use of 2 commercial inoculants containing Lactobacillus buchneri alone or in combination with homofermentative lactic acid bacteria in improving aerobic stability of corn silage stored in commercial farm silos in northern Italy. In the first survey, samples were collected from 10 farms that did not inoculate their silages and from 10 farms that applied a Pioneer 11A44 inoculant (L. buchneri strain LN4637; Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Des Moines, IA). In the second survey, corn silage samples were collected from 11 farms that did not inoculate their silages and from 11 farms that applied a Pioneer 11CFT inoculant (L. buchneri strain LN40177; Pioneer Hi-Bred International). Inoculants were applied directly through self-propelled forage harvesters, at the recommended rate of 1 g/t of fresh forage, to achieve a final application rate of 1.0 × 10(5) cfu/g of L. buchneri. One corn bunker silo, which had been open for at least 10 d, was examined in detail on each farm. The silages inoculated with L. buchneri had lower concentrations of lactic acid, a lower lactic-to-acetic acid ratio, a lower yeast count, and higher aerobic stability compared with the untreated silages. Unexpectedly, concentrations of acetic acid and 1,2-propanediol, 2 hallmarks of L. buchneri activity, did not differ between treatments and were only numerically higher in the inoculated silages compared with untreated ones, in both surveys. Aerobic stability, on average, was 107 and 121 h in the inoculated silages and 64 and 74 h in the untreated silages, for surveys 1 and 2, respectively, and decreased exponentially as the yeast count in the silage at the time of sampling increased, regardless of treatment. Inoculation with L. buchneri proved to be effective in reducing the yeast count to <2 log cfu/g of silage in 16 of 21 of the studied farm silages, confirming the ability of this inoculum to enhance the aerobic stability of corn silages in farm bunker silos

Mixing fresh-cut baby green and red leaf lettuce from soilless cultivation preserves phytochemical content and safety

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of different mixtures of two fresh-cut baby lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. crispa cv. Lollo Bionda [LB] and cv. Lollo Rossa [LR]) cultivars on lettuce phytochemical composition during postharvest. Lettuces were grown in a soilless culture system with continuous flotation (FL) in a greenhouse, mixed at harvest and packaged in polypropylene bags and stored at 4 °C for 9 days (d9). Mixes were made of 100, 75, 50, 25 and 0% of LB, respectively. The results showed that the phytochemicals were preserved during storage. In specific, 25LB had the highest pigment content on d1, while 50LB and 25LB had the highest inherent quality on d1.FL led to a reduced microbial contamination, thus, limiting its growth during storage. The results have revealed that high quality and microbiologically safe baby leaf vegetables (BLV), can be obtained by means of FL. The adopting a mix of lettuce cultivars could represent a positive postharvest practice to preserve the phytochemicals of BLV throughout their shelf life