Effect of Application of a Bacteria Inoculant and Wheat Bran on Fermentation Quality of Peanut Vine Ensiled Alone or with Corn Stover

To find an effective method for ensiling peanut vine (PV), fermentation characteristics and nutritional values of PV silage and the mixture of PV with corn stover (CS) silage in a ratio of 1:1 fresh weight, prepared by adding lactic acid bacteria (LAB), 10% wheat bran (WB) and LAB+WB at ensiling were evaluated in 2009 and 2010. The fermentation qualities of PV silage ensiled with the LAB and WB additives were improved compared with those of the control (PV ensiled alone). However, the pH did not decline to the critical level of 4.2, and the nutritional values of the silage were not protected against losses in the LAB and WB addition silages. Ensiling PV in mixture with CS generated optimal moisture content and buffering capacity (BC) of ensiled materials. After adding the LAB and WB additives to mixture silage, especially adding LAB+WB, the fermentation qualities and nutritional values of the mixture silage were improved significantly (P<0.05), and the Flieg's score reached to 99. The result suggested that it is a feasible method to ensile the mixed materials of PV with CS by adding LAB and high concentration of water soluble-carbohydrate materials for providing a good fermentation quality of PV silage.