The effects of Lactobacillus plantarum on chemical composition, rumen degradability, in vitro gas production and energy content of whole-plant corn ensiled at different stages of maturity

Summary This study was carried out to determine the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum on chemical composition and nutritive value of whole-plant corn (WPC) ensiled at different stages of maturity. Based on local routine practice, WPC was harvested at three stages of maturity as follows: (1) two weeks before routine harvesting time; (2), one week before routine harvesting time and (3), routine harvesting time. Bacterial inoculant (Ecosyl) was used as homofermentive lactic acid bacteria. The inoculant was applied at the recommended level of 1 × 10 5 CFu/g of fresh forage which was ensiled for 25 days in plastic polyethylene bags. Three untreated silages were prepared for each harvesting time and considered as controls (C). At the end of the ensiling period, all silages were subjected to chemical analysis, DM degradability and in vitro gas production. All silages underwent good fermentation and pH values decreased to below 4. WPC ensiled one week before routine harvesting time and treated with bacterial inoculant, had the lowest pH, ADF (P<0.05) content and the highest CP content, total gas production, IVOMD, DOMD (P<0.05), ME (P<0.05), fraction "a" (P<0.05) and ED (P<0.05) compared with other treatments. The results indicated that application of bacterial inoculant (Lactobacillus plantarum) at the recommended level to WPC harvested at one week before routine harvesting time was more effective in enhancing chemical composition and nutritive value of silages, and provide a well-preserved and high nutritive value feedstuff for ruminants

The effects of Lactobacillus plantarum and Propionibacterium acidipropionici on corn silage fermentation, ruminal degradability and nutrient digestibility in sheep.

Summary The chemical composition, in situ ruminal degradability coefficients of dry matter (DM), and nutrient digestibility in sheep were evaluated for corn silage (CS) treated (fresh weight basis) with different levels of a commercial bacterial inoculant (I) as follows: (1) untreated CS (control); (2) CS + I at half of the recommended level; (3) CS + I at the recommended level (3 10 10 colony forming units per g of fresh forage) and (4) CS + I at two-fold recommended level. The inoculants (Lallemand, France) consisted of Lactobacillus plantarum and Propionibacterium acidipropionici. Whole-plant corn was ensiled for 60 days in plastic polyethylene bags. Also, three laboratory silos (70 g capacity) for each treatment were sampled on days 2, 3, 4 and 60 to study the pH changes. The silages underwent rapid fermentation and were wellpreserved. The pH value decreased to 4.0 on day 2 and was the lowest for treatment 2 on day 60 after ensiling compared with other treatments. Treatment 2 had higher (P<0.05) contents of crude protein (CP), residual water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), lactic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, and total acids, but lower (P<0.05) butyric acid than treatment 3, and also higher acetic and lower butyric acid levels than other treatments. No traces of ethanol were detected in any of the silages. The acid detergent fiber (ADF) content of treatments 1 and 4 was lower (P<0.05) than others. Only ether extract (EE) digestibility was affected by these treatments which was higher for treatments 1 and 4 (P<0.05). The DM recovery for treatment 1 was lower than others. Effective DM degradability was slightly higher for treatment 4 and fraction "a" was significantly (P<0.05) lower for treatments 1 and 3 compared with treatment 4. The results indicated that application of this inoculant at half of the recommended level was more effective to enhance the aerobic stability of silages due to higher acetic and propionic acid production which have antimycotyic properties. The decreased cost associated with this level of inoculant might be economical for farmers in warm climates as to encourage its use as an additive for silage making

The chemical composition, rumen degradability, in vitro gas production, energy content and digestibility of olive cake ensiled with additives

The chemical composition, in situ rumen degradability coefficients of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP), in vitro gas production and in vivo digestibility were evaluated for olive cake (OC) silage treated (DM basis) with different additives as follows: (1) untreated OC; (2) OC, 8% molasses and 0.4% formic acid and (3) OC, 8% molasses, 0.4% formic acid and 0.5% urea. After addition of the additives, materials were ensiled for 60 days in plastic bags. The addition of molasses, formic acid and urea resulted in higher DM, CP, pH and NH3-N content. There were some reductions in neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin and acid detergent fiber contents of silages especially with treatment 3. The additives increased the nutritive value and preserved well the ensiled OC. Ruminal maximum potential degradability (a+b), and effective degradability (ED) of DM and CP were higher for treatment 3. Total gas production was higher (P<0.05) for treatments 2 and 3 and was associated with increased (P<0.05) in vitro organic matter digestibility and a non-significant increase in metabolizable energy content. Only CP digestibility was affected by treatments and was highest for treatment 3. In vitro dry matter and organic matter digestibilities improved with treatments 2 and 3. The results indicated that, treating OC (DM basis) before ensiling with molasses (8%), formic acid (0.4%) and urea (0.5%) resulted in a satisfactory and economical source of a non-conventional feed for ruminants

Effect of reducing dietary protein level on performance responses and some microbiological aspects of broiler chickens under summer environmental conditions

This study examined the effect of different crude protein (CP) levels in the diet on growth performance of broilers as well as the total aerobic mesophilic count (TAMC) and Escherichia coli count (ECC) isolated from chicken faeces. A total 150 day-old broilers (Hubbard) were allocated to three treatments with five replicates containing 10 birds. The dietary treatments consisted of three diets with different CP levels for 42 days: highprotein (HCP, 22.5%), medium-protein (MCP, 20.5%), and low-protein (LCP, 18.5%). Body weight and feed intake were determined and the feed conversion ratio was calculated. Faecal samples were collected at 14, 21 and 42 days. Dietary CP did not affect the growth performance of broilers. Reducing CP level was effective at beneficially modulating the composition of the faecal microflora, in particular TAMC and ECC concentrations (log10 CFU g–1) were significant lower for the LCP birds. During hot temperature conditions (33°C and 70% relative humidity) a low protein diet may help to control the characteristics of the faecal microbial community without negative effects on broiler performanc