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Sustainability in Silage Production
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Sustainability in Silage Production

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 3739

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carlos Henrique Silveira Rabelo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Departamento de Fitotecnia, Capão do Leão, RS, Brasil
Interests: microbiology of ensiling, silage additives, silage management, ensiling by-products, animal performance, and livestock sustainability
Prof. Dr. Ricardo Andrade Reis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Animal Science Departament, School of Agrarial and Veterinarian Sciences, Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo 14884-900, Brazil
Interests: beef cattle production; grassland science; greenhouse gas emissions; sustainability; supplementation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xusheng Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
Interests: silage; silage making; lactobacillus buchneri; cholesterol; probiotic agent; lactobacillales; intestine flora; ruminococcaceae; Microorganisms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants are jointly publishing a Special Issue on ‘Sustainability in Silage Production’. Forage preservation through the ensiling process is the primary way to ensure animal feeding during drought and under intensive production systems in several countries worldwide. However, silage fermentation can produce varied amounts of volatile compounds and effluent (if ensiled wet), especially when performed badly. Moreover, greenhouse gas emissions from livestock can be affected by the quality of silage fed to animals. As the world’s population is increasingly demanding sustainable production systems in diverse areas, this involves silage production because it compounds a significant part of many animal diets. Thus, research covering the different strategies of silage management (use of silage additives, silo covering, delay to ensiling, packing, silage removal from the silo, silage processing and feeding, and so on) has been conducted to reduce undesirable products from silage fermentation; the use of the ensiling process as a strategy that uses by-products for animal feeding is needed. It is supposed that such strategies might contribute to the improved sustainability of animal production chains dependent on using conserved forage through ensiling. Therefore, considering the current interest in sustainable systems of animal production, this Special Issue will cover a wide variety of management strategies aiming to contribute to the overall knowledge of sustainable silage production.

Dr. Carlos Henrique Silveira Rabelo
Prof. Dr. Ricardo Andrade Reis
Prof. Dr. Xusheng Guo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • animal performance
  • ensiling by-products
  • greenhouse gas emissions
  • livestock
  • volatile compounds
  • silage production
  • sustainability

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3091 KiB  
Article
Effect of Growth Stage on Nutrition, Fermentation Quality, and Microbial Community of Semidry Silage from Forage Soybean
by Kexin Wang, Shengnan Sun, Yilin Zou, Yongqi Gao, Zifeng Gao, Bo Wang, Yi Hua, Yalin Lu, Guofu Hu and Ligang Qin
Plants 2024, 13(5), 739; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13050739 - 6 Mar 2024
Viewed by 593
Abstract
Soybean (Glycine max (Linn.) Merr.) is highly suitable as animal feed. The silage quality and microbial characteristics of soybean silage are still unclear. Forage soybean (HN389), at six different growth stages (R2-R7), were used as experimental materials to investigate the changes in [...] Read more.
Soybean (Glycine max (Linn.) Merr.) is highly suitable as animal feed. The silage quality and microbial characteristics of soybean silage are still unclear. Forage soybean (HN389), at six different growth stages (R2-R7), were used as experimental materials to investigate the changes in fermentation, nutritional quality, and microbial characteristics of semidry silage after 0, 7, 14, 30, and 45 d. As the growth period extended, the content of crude protein (CP) and crude fat (EE) gradually increased, while the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and the acid detergent fiber (ADF) content decreased. The pH value also decreased gradually with fermentation time, accompanied by increases in the proportion of ammonia-N and the content of lactic acid (LA) and acetic acid (AA). In addition, competitive inhibition was observed in the microbial fermentation. With the process of ensiling, Lactobacillus became the dominant bacterial species. The results indicate that the most active stage of fermentation during ensiling occurred within the first 7 days, the fermentation and nutritional quality of the soybean forage were improved, and the optimal mowing stage was the grain stage. Comparison of the microbial abundance showed that all microorganisms entered a stable stage at 30 days of silage. After storage, the dominant bacteria were Lactobacillus, Enterobacter, and Pantoea. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Silage Production)
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13 pages, 312 KiB  
Article
Fermentation Profile, Aerobic Stability, and Chemical and Mineral Composition of Cactus Pear Silages with Different Inclusion Levels of Gliricidia Hay
by Moema Kelly Nogueira de Sá, Alberício Pereira de Andrade, Gherman Garcia Leal de Araújo, André Luiz Rodrigues Magalhães, Cleyton de Almeida Araújo, Roberta de Lima Valença, Amélia de Macedo, Antônia Rafaela da Silva Oliveira, Anderson de Moura Zanine, Daniele de Jesus Ferreira, Fagton de Mattos Negrão, Thieres George Freire da Silva, Fleming Sena Campos and Glayciane Costa Gois
Plants 2024, 13(2), 195; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13020195 - 11 Jan 2024
Viewed by 905
Abstract
Cactus pear is used in large proportions in diets for small ruminants in semiarid regions. However, its exclusive use is not recommended due to the low fiber and crude protein content and the high water and mineral content, leading to metabolic disorders, low [...] Read more.
Cactus pear is used in large proportions in diets for small ruminants in semiarid regions. However, its exclusive use is not recommended due to the low fiber and crude protein content and the high water and mineral content, leading to metabolic disorders, low dry matter intake, and weight loss. The use of mixed cactus silage associated with protein and fibrous sources seeks to overcome the deficits in dry matter, fiber and crude protein, aiming to improve the nutritional quality of the diets that will be offered to ruminants. Thus, the use of gliricidia hay in cactus pear silages could represent an important alternative to improve the nutritional and fermentative characteristics of the ensiled material. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate the fermentation dynamics, nutritional characteristics, and aerobic stability of mixed silages of cactus pear combined with different levels of gliricidia hay. This was a completely randomized experimental design with five treatments and five repetitions. The treatments consisted of different levels of inclusion of gliricidia hay (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40% on a dry matter basis) in the composition of mixed cactus pear silages. The inclusion of gliricidia hay in the composition of mixed silages of cactus pear resulted in a quadratic effect for dry matter recovery, pH, NH3-N, buffering capacity, aerobic stability, ether extract, P, K, Na, and Zn (p < 0.05). There was a reduction in density, effluent losses, maximum pH, mineral matter, non-fiber carbohydrates, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Mn (p < 0.05), and an increase in the time to reach maximum pH as well as an upward trend in pH, dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and B (p < 0.05). Under experimental conditions, the inclusion of gliricidia hay between 20 and 30% in cactus pear-based silage provided an improvement to the chemical composition and fermentation parameters of the silages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Silage Production)
25 pages, 3707 KiB  
Article
Influences of Growth Stage and Ensiling Time on Fermentation Characteristics, Nitrite, and Bacterial Communities during Ensiling of Alfalfa
by Jiangbo An, Lin Sun, Mingjian Liu, Rui Dai, Gentu Ge, Zhijun Wang and Yushan Jia
Plants 2024, 13(1), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13010084 - 27 Dec 2023
Viewed by 819
Abstract
This study examined the impacts of growth stage and ensiling duration on the fermentation characteristics, nitrite content, and bacterial communities during the ensiling of alfalfa. Harvested alfalfa was divided into two groups: vegetative growth stage (VG) and late budding stage (LB). The fresh [...] Read more.
This study examined the impacts of growth stage and ensiling duration on the fermentation characteristics, nitrite content, and bacterial communities during the ensiling of alfalfa. Harvested alfalfa was divided into two groups: vegetative growth stage (VG) and late budding stage (LB). The fresh alfalfa underwent wilting until reaching approximately 65% moisture content, followed by natural fermentation. The experiment followed a completely randomized design, with samples collected after the wilting of alfalfa raw materials (MR) and on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 15, 30, and 60 of fermentation. The growth stage significantly influenced the chemical composition of alfalfa, with crude protein content being significantly higher in the vegetative growth stage alfalfa compared to that in the late budding stage (p < 0.05). Soluble carbohydrates, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber content were significantly lower in the vegetative growth stage compared to the late budding stage (p < 0.05). Nitrite content, nitrate content, nitrite reductase activity, and nitrate reductase activity were all significantly higher in the vegetative growth stage compared to the late budding stage (p < 0.05). In terms of fermentation parameters, silage from the late budding stage exhibited superior characteristics compared to that from the vegetative growth stage. Compared to the alfalfa silage during the vegetative growth stage, the late budding stage group exhibited a higher lactate content and lower pH level. Notably, butyric acid was only detected in the silage from the vegetative growth stage group. Throughout the ensiling process, nitrite content, nitrate levels, nitrite reductase activity, and nitrate reductase activity decreased in both treatment groups. The dominant lactic acid bacteria differed between the two groups, with Enterococcus being predominant in vegetative growth stage alfalfa silage, and Weissella being predominant in late budding stage silage, transitioning to Lactiplantibacillus in the later stages of fermentation. On the 3rd day of silage fermentation, the vegetative growth stage group exhibited the highest abundance of Enterococcus, which subsequently decreased to its lowest level on the 15th day. Correlation analysis revealed that lactic acid bacteria, including Limosilactobacillus, Levilactobacillus, Loigolactobacillus, Pediococcus, Lactiplantibacillus, and Weissella, played a key role in nitrite and nitrate degradation in alfalfa silage. The presence of nitrite may be linked to Erwinia, unclassified_o__Enterobacterales, Pantoea, Exiguobacterium, Enterobacter, and Allorhizobium–Neorhizobium–Pararhizobium–Rhizobium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Silage Production)
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18 pages, 11137 KiB  
Article
Study on Dynamic Fermentation of Oat Silage Assisted by Exogenous Fibrolytic Enzymes
by Wei Liu, Shuai Du, Lin Sun, Zhijun Wang, Gentu Ge and Yushan Jia
Plants 2024, 13(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13010006 - 19 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 854
Abstract
Based on the low content of water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) attachment in oat raw materials, we assumed that the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content of oat can be reduced by adding cellulase or xylanase. The concentration of metabolizable sugars [...] Read more.
Based on the low content of water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) attachment in oat raw materials, we assumed that the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content of oat can be reduced by adding cellulase or xylanase. The concentration of metabolizable sugars will be increased, which will assist the oat’s bacterial community in fermentation and obtain a better quality of oat silage. After wilting the oat, it was treated as follows: (1) distributed water (CK); (2) silages inoculated with xylanase (X); and (3) silages inoculated with cellulase (C), ensiling for 3, 7, 14, 30, and 60 days. Cellulase and xylanase treatments both alter the fermentation and nutritional quality of ensiled oat, resulting in lower NDF, acid detergent fiber (ADF), cellulose, and hemicellulose contents, increased lactic acid and acetic acid contents, and a significant decrease in ensiling environment pH. The bacterial community undergoes significant changes with cellulase and xylanase treatments, with a significant increase in Lactobacillus abundance in the C_14, X_30, C_30, X_60, and C_60 treatment groups, while Weissella abundance gradually decreases with longer ensiling times. Two exogenous fibrolytic enzymes also alter the bacterial diversity of ensiled oat, with different bacterial species and abundances observed in different treatment groups. Ensiled oat treated with cellulase and xylanase experiences significant changes in its own bacterial community, particularly in the abundance of Lactobacillus. These changes result in improved fermentation and nutritional quality of oat, but the higher metabolism levels observed after 60 days of ensiling with cellulase treatment may lead to energy loss. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Silage Production)
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