Several microorganisms and one chemical preservative
were tested for their effects on the fermentation
and aerobic stability of corn silage. Whole-plant corn
(one-half milk line, 31.3% dry matter) was ensiled in
quadruplicate 20-L laboratory silos untreated or after
the following treatments: Lactobacillus buchneri at 1
× 105 and 1 × 106 cfu/g of fresh forage; two different
strains of L. plantarum, each at 1 × 106 cfu/g; and a
buffered propionic acid-based product at 0.1% of fresh
forage weight. After 100 d of ensiling, silage treated
with L. buchneri (1 × 106 cfu/g) had a lower concentration
of lactic acid compared with the untreated silage,
but was similar to other treated silages. The silage
treated with the high (1 × 106 cfu/g), but not the moderate
rate (1 × 105 cfu/g) of L. buchneri also had a greater
concentration of acetic acid (3.60%) and less yeasts (2.01
log cfu/g) when compared with other treatments (average
of 1.88% acetic acid and 5.85 log cfu of yeasts/g).
Silages treated with L. plantarums, the moderate rate
of L. buchneri, and the chemical preservative took
longer to heat than untreated silage when exposed to
air, but improvements were numerically small (6.3 to
10.5 h). In contrast, silage treated with the high rate
of L. buchneri never heated throughout a 900-h period
of monitoring. Inoculating corn silage with 1 × 106 cfu/
g of L. buchneri resulted in a more heterolactic fermentation
and dramatically improved the aerobic stability
of corn silage.