Effects of Chopping Length and Additive on the Fermentation Quality and Aerobic Stability in Silage of _Levmus chinensis_  
[PERSON]  
1 College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.S.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.J.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.G.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (S.X.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.W.)  
[PERSON]  
1 College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.S.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.J.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.G.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (S.X.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.W.)  
[PERSON]  
1 College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.S.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.J.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.G.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (S.X.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.W.)  
[PERSON]  
1 College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.S.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.J.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.G.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (S.X.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.W.)  
[PERSON]  
1 College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.W.)  
[PERSON]  
1 College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.S.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.J.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (R.G.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (S.X.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Z.W.)  
[PERSON]  
2 State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] 202059@cau.  
to utilize natural grassland. The processing of silage under sealed anaerobic conditions can reduce the loss of nutrients, which in turn provides high-quality fermented green forage for livestock in winter [9]. However, _L. chinensis_ silage is not easily processed for ensiling because of its relatively low concentration of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content during ensiling [1,10]. Moreover, the hollow and hard stems impede the creation of anaerobic conditions for successful ensiling [11]. In addition, the raw material characteristics of _L. chinensis_ and mechanical limitations prevent the cutting of _L. chinensis_ into short segments, which increases the quantity of oxygen entrapped in the silage and may result in poor silage preservation [12]. _L. chinensis_ silage also deteriorates easily when exposed to air [1]. Thus, more efforts are needed to improve the fermentation and aerobic stability of _L. chinensis_ silage.  
In our previous studies, organic acids, chemical additives and LAB strains were used to improve the fermentation quality and aerobic stability of forage silage [1,10]. It is well documented that homofermentative bacterial inoculants ferment WSC into organic acids, particularly lactic acid (LA), which improve the fermentation of silage [13]. Sucrose is usually used as an additive to improve the fermentation quality of grass silage or to reduce the aerobic deterioration of silage, especially for plants with lower WSC contents [14,15]. Applying a combination of these two types of additives may be more effective than using one type of additive alone [16]. In addition, the cutting length also influences the density of compaction and the followed fermentation characteristics [12,17]. However, to our knowledge, only a few studies have investigated the effects of proper lengths and additives on improving the fermentation quality and suppressing aerobic deterioration of _L. chinensis_ silage.  
The aim of our study was to detect the effects of chopping length and additives on the fermentation quality of _L. chinensis_ silage. Furthermore, the levels of in acidic substances associated with the aerobic stability during the aerobic exposure were also measured.