In uence of Starch Type as Substrate Material in Dry Lactic Acid Bacteria Inoculant Preparation on Fermentation Quality and Nutrient Digestibility of King Grass Silage

Abstract

The lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play an important role in silage fermentation and in uence silage quality. The population of LAB is usually low and varies with standing crops. Thus, addition of LAB inoculant is needed to improve silage quality. Use of liquid LAB has limited time during storage, thus development of dry LAB inoculant is needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate fermentation quality and nutrient digestibility of king grass silage treated with dry L. plantarum inoculant prepared with different type of starch as substrate material. Five treatments used in this study were A. King grass without LAB inoculant as control; B. King grass + 3% liquid LAB; C. King grass + 3% dry LAB with cassava starch as substrate material; D. King grass + 3% dry LAB with sago starch as susbtrate material; E. King grass + 3% dry LAB with combination of cassava and sago starches as susbtrate material. About 1.5 kg of silage materials were packed into plastic silos and tied with a string. Three replicate silos were prepared for each treatment and stored in room temperature for 30 d. The results showed that the number of LAB in dry inoculants varied from 2.6 × 107 to 4.0 × 107 cfu/g. Addition of dry LAB inoculant containing cassava starch (C) signi cantly enhanced (P<0.01) lactic acid concentration. Otherwise, this treatment had the lowest N-NH3 concentration compared to other treatments. In vitro dry matter and organic matter were higher (P<0.01) in silages treated with liquid and dry LAB inoculant (B, C, D, E) compared to control silage (A). However, silage treated with dry LAB inoculant containing cassava and sago starches (C, D) had higher (P<0.01) in vitro organic matter than liquid LAB inoculant (B). It was concluded that dry LAB inoculant prepared with cassava starch as substrate material had the best quality fermentation of king grass silage than other LAB inoculants.