Effects of a chemical additive on the fermentation, microbial communities, and aerobic stability of corn silage with or without air stress during storage

We evaluated the effects of a chemical additive on the microbial communities, fermentation profile, and aerobic stability of whole-plant corn silage with or without air stress during storage. Whole-plant corn was either untreated or treated with a chemical additive containing sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, and sodium nitrite at 2 or 3 liters/t of fresh forage weight. Ten individually treated and replicated silos (7.5 liters) were made for each treatment. Half of the silos remained sealed throughout a 63-d storage period, and the other half was subjected to air stress for 2 h/wk. The composition of the bacterial and fungal communities of fresh forage and silages untreated or treated with 2 liters/t of fresh forage weight was analyzed by Illumina Miseq sequencing. Treated silage had greater (P < 0.05) aerobic stability than untreated, even when subjected to air stress during storage, but the numbers of yeasts culturable on selective agar were not affected. However, the additive reduced the relative abundance (RA) of the lactating-assimilating yeast Candida tropicalis (P < 0.01). In air-stressed silages, untreated silage had a greater (P < 0.05) RA of Pichia kudriavzevii (also a lactate assimilator) than treated silage, whereas treated silage was dominated by Candida humilis, which is usually unable to assimilate lactate or assimilates it slowly. The additive improved the aerobic stability by specifically preventing the dominance of yeast species that can consume lactate and initiate aerobic spoilage. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that identifies the specific action of this additive on shifting the microbial communities in corn silage.