Abstract
Two selected strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Lactobacillus plantarum FG1 and Pediococcus acidilactici CA25 associated with forage were used as additives to barley tea grounds for silage preparation, with or without acremonium cellulase (AUS). These strains were able to grow at an initial pH value as low as 3.5 and fermented glucose and fructose. The processing and conservation of barley tea grounds silage and their fermentation quality were studied in two separate experiments : 1) a small-scale fermentation system, and 2) a drum silo. Barley tea grounds contained about 105-106 (cfu/g of fresh matter) aerobic bacteria, 103 to 104 mould and yeast, but lactic acid bacteria counts were below the limit of detection (<10 cfu/g of fresh matter). Water-soluble carbohydrates were consistently at or below the detectable level (0.01 g/kg of dry matter). Silage treated with strains FG1 and CA25 showed a similar fermentation quality to the control silage in the experiment 1. However, silages treated with both AUS and LAB were well preserved and exhibited significantly (P<0.05) lower organic cell wall content and pH values, and significantly (P<0.05) higher content of lactic acid and crude protein as compared to the control in both experiments. All silages showed low contents of butyric acid, propionic acid and ammonia nitrogen. The results confirmed that barley tea grounds are a potential new resource for livestock feed.
