How is L. buchneri different from other bacterial silage inoculants?
Most bacterial silage inoculants produce primarily lactic acid during the fermentation process. The most common lactic acid producing bacteria used in silage inoculants are Lactobacillus plantarum, L. acidophilus, Pediococcus cerevisiae, P. acidilactici and Enterocccus faecium. These organisms have been demonstrated to increase the rate of pH decline during fermentation, decrease losses of silage DM, and in many cases, animal performance is improved. However, silage fermentation products produced by homofermentative bacterial inoculants sometimes can result in silage that is less stable when exposed to air than silages that have not been inoculated. This is possible because lactic acid produced by homofermentative bacteria can be readily metabolized by some species of yeast and mold upon exposure to oxygen. When applied at the time of ensiling at the rate of up to 5 x 105 CFU per gram of fresh material, L. buchneri has been demonstrated to improve aerobic stability of high moisture cor
