Changes in microbial population and chemical composition of corn stover during field exposure and their evaluation on silage fermentation and in vitro digestibility.

Objectve: To effectively use corn stover as animal feed, we studied the changes in microbial population and chemical composition of three cultivar corn stover during field exposure and their effects on silage fermentation and in vitro digestibility.

Methods: The corn stover silages were prepared from stovers exposed in the field for 0, 7, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 180 d. The microbial composition, chemical composition, fermentation quality, and in vitro digestibility were analyzed.

Results: Aerobic bacteria were dominant population in fresh corn stover. After ensiling, the natural lactic acid bacteria (LAB) became the dominant bacteria, while other microbes decreased or dropped below the detection level. The crude protein and water-soluble carbohydrate content in stover decreased greatly during exposure. Fresh stover had a relatively low moisture content, high water-soluble carbohydrate content, and LAB counts, and their silage was preserved well, but the dry stover did not. Silage fermentation not only inhibited nutrient loss, but also improved the fermentation quality and in vitro digestibility.

Conclusion: The results confirm that fresh corn stover has good ensiling characteristics and that silage can prepare as good of quality.