Meta-analysis of the effect of lactic acid bacteria additives on the nutritional and fermentation quality of maize silage
The aim was to assess the effects of lactic acid bacteria additives on the nutritional and fermentation qualities of maize silage.Randomised controlled trials on the effects of lactic acid additives on maize silage published in the China Knowledge Network database,Wanfang database,Wipro China database and PubMed from 2018 to 2022 were retrieved for meta-analysis.Dry matter(DM),crude protein(CP),neutral detergent fibre(NDF)and acid detergent fibre(ADF)were selected as indicators for assessing nutritional quality,pH,soluble carbohydrates(WSC),ammoniacal nitrogen/total nitrogen(NH3-N/TN),lactic acid(LA)and acetic acid(AA)were selected as indicators for assessing fermentation quality,lactic acid bacteria additives were used as interventions,and the types of lactic acid bacteria were classified into three subgroups of homozygous,heterozygous and composite lactic acid bacteria,and the effect values of the three subgroups were calculated respectively,as well as the combined effect values were calculated for the three subgroups as well as the combined effect values.A total of 15 studies involving 1004 samples were included.Nutritional quality index effect sizes:DM:0.84[-0.87,2.56],1.22[-0.77,3.22],0.42[-0.77,1.61],0.67[-0.11,1.46](P>0.05);CP:0.14[-1.23,1.51],-1.36[-3.74,1.01].0.68[-0.59,1.94],0.22[-0.73,1.18](P>0.05);NDF:-7.06[-15.60,1.49],-0.94[-3.38,1.50],0.61[0.10,1.12],0.03[-0.74,0.80](P>0.05);ADF:-1.40[-2.90,0.09],-0.86[-2.67,0.94],0.33[-0.20,0.85],-0.28[-0.92,0.36](P>0.05).Fermentation quality indicator effect sizes:pH:-0.65[-5.68,4.38],0.20[-4.23,4.62],-0.86[-2.13,0.40],-0.67[-1.85,0.52](P>0.05);WSC:-10.10[-39.49,19.30],-0.19[-1.51,1.36](P>0.05).1.51,1.13],-0.64[-1.30,0.03],-0.43[-1.25,0.40](P>0.05);NH3-N/TN:0.69[-9.25,10.62],1.12[-3.11,5.35],-2.52[-4.99,-0.04],-1.20[-3.15,0.75](P>0.05);LA:2.15[-0.43,4.74],0.25[-2.13,2.64],0.88[-0.19,1.94],0.97[0.12,1.83](P<0.05);AA:1.48[-0.64,3.59],0.47[-1.95,2.88].0.09[-1.16,1.34],0.47[-0.46,1.40](P>0.05).The results of the study showed that the addition of lactic acid bacteria additives improved the nutritional and fermentation quality of maize silage,but the differences were not significant except for the lactic acid index.There were differences in the effects of different types of lactic acid bacteria additives,mainly between homozygous and heterozygous lactic acid additives.When developing and utilising lactic acid bacteria additives,it was necessary to take both types of lactic acid bacteria into consideration and seek the most suitable additive combination.