Analysis on Fermentation Quality, Chemical Composition and Bacterial Communities of Corn Straw and Soybean Straw Mixed Silage
Zhifei Zhang,
Kailing Zhao,
Shuli Yang,
Li Min,
Xiong Tong,
Weidong Chen,
Dagang Li
Affiliations
Zhifei Zhang
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South China, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Nutrition, Heyuan Branch Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510000, China
Kailing Zhao
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South China, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Nutrition, Heyuan Branch Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510000, China
Shuli Yang
School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China
Li Min
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South China, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Nutrition, Heyuan Branch Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510000, China
Xiong Tong
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South China, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Nutrition, Heyuan Branch Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510000, China
Weidong Chen
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South China, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Nutrition, Heyuan Branch Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510000, China
Dagang Li
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South China, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Nutrition, Heyuan Branch Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510000, China
In this study, the effects of mixed silage on the fermentation quality, chemical composition and bacterial communities of corn straw and soybean straw were assessed. Corn straws, soybean straws or a mixture of corn straws and soybean straws in a 1:1 mass ratio were uniformly mixed and processed using the same method to produce bagged silage weighing 50 kg per bag. At days 0, 14 and 60 of the fermentation process, the nutritional composition and fermentation quality indicators of each group were measured. A complete factorial design to assess the effect of the ensiling time, types of fermented straw (treatment group) and their interactions on the assessed parameters was performed. In addition, metabolomics sequencing and microbial community analysis were performed on the samples on the 60th day of fermentation. Compared with the corn straw group and the soybean straw group, the silage fermentation quality of the corn straw–soybean straw group is better, which is reflected in higher crude protein rate (p p p manihotivorans, brevis and zeae, and significantly downregulated metabolites, such as pyrocatechol and N-benzoyltyramine. Similarly, positive correlations were observed between certain bacterial species, such as dublinensis, marcescens and agglomerans, and upregulated metabolites, such as D-xylonic acid and neochlorogenic acid. These findings suggest that the key microbial–metabolite pathways identified are responsible for the good fermentation quality observed during mixed fermentation of corn straw and soybean straw at a 1:1 mass ratio.