Comparative Influence of Pioneer® 1133C Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bacillus altitudinis on the Aerobic Stability of King Grass Silage

This study evaluated the comparative influence of a commercial inoculant, Pioneer® Brand 11C33 (a blend of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus buchneri), and Bacillus altitudinis isolated from banana leaves silage on the aerobic stability of king grass silage. King grass was ensiled in three treatments: control (no inoculant), group A (B. altitudinis), and group B (Pioneer® 11C33), with six replicates per treatment, for 40 days. After ensiling, silage samples were exposed to air for 0, 6, 12, and 18 hours and monitored for pH, temperature, and microbial growth (molds and yeasts). The control silage exhibited a rapid and significant increase in pH (4.5 ± 0 to 5.4 ± 0) and temperature (25 ± 0 to 33 ± 0 °C) over 18 hours, accompanied by massive proliferation of molds (3,500 ± 0 to 130,000 ± 0 cfu/g) and yeasts (3,000 ± 0 to 160,000 ± 0 cfu/g). In contrast, the inoculated silages maintained greater stability, with group A showing mild increases in pH (4.0 ± 0.08 to 4.3 ± 0.04), temperature (24.5 ± 0 to 27 ± 0 °C), and microbial growth (molds: 2,900 ± 0 to 6,200 cfu/g; yeasts: 2,400 ± 0 to 4,000 cfu/g), whereas group B exhibited the highest aerobic stability, with minimal changes in pH (3.9 ± 0.09 to 4.1 ± 0.08), temperature (24.2 ± 0 to 25 ± 0 °C), and mold (2,500 ± 0 to 3,200 cfu/g) and yeast (2,000 ± 0 to 2,800 cfu/g) populations. These results indicate that both inoculants effectively enhanced the aerobic stability of king grass silage, with Pioneer® 11C33 providing superior resistance to spoilage during air exposure.