Lactobacilli in ensiled high-moisture corn

Abstract

Aerobic mesophilic bacteria, molds, yeasts, and Lactobacillus species were enumerated at various intervals of the ensiling process of high-moisture corn (HMC). A total of 466 isolates of Lactobacillus were identified to determine the species of Lactobacillus associated with ensiled HMC and remoistened corn. The numbers of aerobic bacteria in the ensiled HMC increased to 10(8) per gram within 1 week and remained at this level throughout the storage period. The numbers of aerobic bacteria in the remoistened corn increased to 10(9) per gram and remained at this level during the 60-day storage period, after which they increased rapidly. Yeasts were the predominant microflora of the ensiled HMC. Mold numbers were low in the silos, but were very high in the remoistened corn, especially toward the end of the 60-day storage period. The species of Lactobacillus most frequently isolated from the ensiled HMC were L. plantarum, 52% of the isolates; L. brevis, 19% of the isolates; L. brevis (atypical), 15%; L. fermenti, 11%; and L. buchneri, 3%. The lactic acid bacteria, therefore, are the predominant bacterial flora of ensiled HMC, as they are of other types of plant forages that undergo similar fermentations.