Effects of wilting and additives on fermentation characteristics, microbial composition, metabolome, and ruminal degradation properties of mulberry silage.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Optimizing the silage processing technology for mulberry is essential to improve the utilization efficiency of this feed resource. This study investigated the effects of a wilting pretreatment and silage additives on fermentation dynamics, microbial community structure, metabolites, and in situ ruminal degradation characteristics of whole-plant mulberry silage. A 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with two conditions (62% vs. 73% moisture content) and three silage additives (control, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LP), and organic acids (OA)) was applied in a completely randomized design with 6 replications. All samples were ensiled for 60 days before analysis.

Results

The wilting procedure increased lactic acid and crude protein (CP) contents while lowering pH (P < 0.05

SUBMITTER: Di F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12918235 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature