Abstract:

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effects of different additives on the fermentation quality of bamboo shoot shells， and to investigate the effects of the various silage products on rumen microorganisms of Hu Sheep. Formic acid， cellulase， and effective microorganisms were added alone or in combination and their effects on the fermentation of bamboo shoot shells in a small-tank silage system were determined. The experiment consisted of a control （CK， no additives） and seven treatment groups： The FA group （formic acid）， CE group （cellulase）， EM group （effective microorganisms）， FC group （formic acid+cellulase）， CM group （cellulase+effective microorganisms）， FM group （formic acid+effective microorganisms）， and FCM group （formic acid+cellulase+effective microorganisms）. The nutrient composition and fermentation quality of the silage in each treatment and in CK were measured after 80 days of fermentation. On the basis of these analyses， the optimal groups， FM and FCM， were selected for a feeding experiment with Hu Sheep. In the feeding experiment， 30 healthy， disease-free male Hu Sheep with similar body weight ［（16.68±1.05） kg］ were selected and randomly divided into three groups， with 10 sheep per group. It was found that： 1） The sensory quality of silage was good in the FM and FCM groups， poor in CK and the CM group， and average in all the other groups. 2） The dry matter （DM） contents were 32.14%， 32.37%， 32.30%， 33.96%， and 34.15% in the FA， EM， FC， FM， and FCM groups， respectively， while the crude protein （CP） contents were 9.31%， 9.64%， 9.80%， 10.82%， and 11.18%， respectively. The DM and CP contents were significantly higher in all treatment groups than in the control （DM， 29.34%； CP， 8.57%） （P<0.05）. The neutral detergent fiber content was significantly lower （P<0.05） in FCM silage （35.06%） than in FM silage （37.48%）； While acid detergent fiber contents were significantly lower （P<0.05） in FM silage （27.45%） and FCM silage （26.61%） than in CK silage （34.39%）. 3） The pH was significantly lower （P<0.05） in FA and FCM silages （3.75 and 3.74， respectively） than in FM， FC， and CK silages （3.94， 3.86， and 4.15， respectively）. The lactate contents in FA， EM， FC， FM， and FCM silages were 8.44%， 8.33%， 9.25%， 10.83%， and 11.23%， respectively， significantly higher than in CK silage （7.90%） （P<0.05）， and significantly higher in FM and FCM silages than in FA， EM， and FC silages （P<0.05）. The ammonia nitrogen/total nitrogen （AN/TN） levels in the FA， FC， FM， and FCM silages were 5.51， 6.05， 5.97， and 5.45， respectively， significantly lower than in CK silage （7.24） （P<0.05）. 4） The average length of rumen papilla in Hu sheep fed with FCM and FM silages was 1.79 and 1.72 mm， respectively， significantly longer than that in Hu sheep fed with CK silage （1.28 mm） （P<0.05）. 5） The Chao1 index value of microbial communities in the rumen of sheep fed with FCM and FM silages was 3007.31 and 2897.70， respectively， significantly higher than that of the microbial community in the rumen of sheep fed with CK silage （2456.21） （P<0.05）. 6） The relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae in the rumen was lower in sheep fed with CK and FCM silages （17.12% and 19.12%， respectively） than in those fed with FM silage （20.98%）， but the difference was not significant （P>0.05）. The relative abundance of BS11 in the rumen was higher in the sheep fed with FM silage （6.44%） and FCM silage （6.12%） than in those fed with CK silage （1.84%）， but the difference was not significant （P>0.05）. In conclusion， silages made from bamboo shoot shells differ in their sensory quality， fermentation characteristics， and nutritional quality and can promote the rumen morphological development of Hu sheep， but their effects on the composition and structure of rumen microbial communities are not obvious.

Key words: bamboo shoot shell, additive, fermentation quality, Hu Sheep, rumen microorganisms