Lactic Acid Productivity of the Selected Strains of the Genus Lactobacillus in Laboratory-scale Silages

Abstract

Lactic acid productivity and growth of Lactobacillus rhamnosus NGRI 0110, Lactobacillus pentosus NGRI 0506 and Lactobacillus plantarum NGRI 0320 and NGRI 0529 were examined in a model system for ensilage using of milled alfalfa hay cube added with water (AHC medium). In the pure culture, L. rhamnosus produced larger amounts of lactic acid at 37℃ and 45℃ in spite of slower growth than L. plantarum and L. pentosus, whereas later strains produced larger amounts of lactic acid at 10℃ and 5℃ than L. rhamnosus. In the mixed culture with a butyric acid bacterium (Clostridium butyricum) and a coli-form bacterium (Klebsiella pneumoniae), L. rhamnosus inoculated together with L. plantarum or L. pentosus improved fermentation quality at 37℃ more effectively than that inoculated each alone. The mixed inoculation of these strains of the genus Lactobacillus was also effective for improving fermentation quality in the ensiling process of Italian ryegrass.