## 3 Results and Discussions
### Effect of Lactic Acid Bacteria on Rice Straw Silage  
Rice straw is an agricultural by-product with low nutritive value; it is low in CP but high in lignin and silica contents [45]. Due to its low nutritive value, it fails to meet energy and protein requirements of ruminants [46]. The addition of LAB in rice straw silage has been thought to improve the nutritional value of the rice straw. The chemical composition of rice straw after ensiling for 3, 7, 20, and 40 days is presented in Table 4. There was a significant difference (\(p<0.05\)) in DM across the treatments after days 3, 20 and 40. At the end of the 40-day ensiling period, the LPA treatment had the lowest DM compared to the other treatments. The DM contents reported in the current study were similar in range to those reported by [PERSON] et al. [47], which were between 28.9 to 39.3%. CP content after 40 days of ensiling was higher (\(p<0.05\)) in the LAB treated silages compared to NC treatment. Similar observations were made by [PERSON] et al. [47]. This was contrary to the findings of [PERSON] et al. [48], who showed no effects of silage inoculation on CP content. The LA treatment had the least NDF content after 40 days, which was significantly lower than the other treatments except for the PC treatment, which had similar NDF content. This was in line with what was reported by [PERSON] et al. [47]. With regards to the difference in NDF content that exists between inoculated and uninoculated silage substrates. Neutral detergent fiber and ADF appear to have been degraded toward the end of the ensiling period. As was seen with NDF, the LA treatment had significantly lower ADF than the rest of the treatments (\(p<0.05\)). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Item**} & \multicolumn{8}{c}{**Treatment (\(n=3\))**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**SEM 2**} & \multirow{2}{*}{\(P\)} \\ \cline{2-2} \cline{5-8}  & **NC 1** & & & & & & \\ \hline DMD, \% & & & & & & \\
6 h & 42.63 & 45.71 & 42.39 & 40.17 & 41.09 & 0.711 & 0.216 \\
24 h & 58.57 & 59.30 & 60.78 & 58.18 & 65.74 & 0.889 & 0.118 \\ pH & & & & & & & \\
6 h & 6.93 2, 3, 3 & 7.00 3 & 6.97 2, 3, 3 & 6.99 2 & 6.90 2 & 0.007 & 0.009 \\
24 h & 6.79 & 6.78 & 6.79 & 6.78 & 6.75 & 0.007 & 0.265 \\ \multicolumn{8}{c}{Total gas production, mL} & \multirow{2}{*}{13.61} \\
6 h & 15.83 & 15.94 & 14.17 & 13.61 & 17.78 & 0.919 & 0.645 \\
24 h & 52.61 2 2 2 & 38.36 2 2 2 & 58.33 2 The treatments significantly affected the pH of rice straw silage after 40 days (\(p<0.05\), Table 5.). Among the LAB treatments, the PC treatment resulted in the lowest pH, followed by LA and LPA treatments. The NC treatment resulted in a higher (\(p<0.05\)) ammonia-N production than the other treatments, though this was similar to the LPL and LPA treatments. Fungi, yeast, and Lactobacillus as determinants of silage spoilage were not statistically significant. The proliferation of the genus Bacillus was significantly affected by the inoculation of the silage substrate (\(p<0.05\)), with the LPL treatment having the least effect on Bacillus and the LA treatment having the most. The fermentation characteristics seen in the current study indicate that, except for the LPL treatment, rice straw treated by LAB inoculation produced silage that had lower pH compared to that which was not treated. The depressed pH in the case of LAB inoculated rice straw silage is associated with the production of lactic acid during fermentation. Several studies have also reported similar differences between LAB treated and untreated rice straw silage [47; 48; 49]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline
**Days of Ensiling** & **Treatments (_n = 3_)** & **DM** & **OM** & **CP** & **NDF** & **ADF** \\ \hline \multirow{8}{*}{3} & NC 1 [FOOTNOTE:1]Footnote 1: NC: Negative control (maize silage without any additives); PC: Positive control (maize silage treated with commercial silage additives); LPL: maize silage treated with _L. plantarum_; LPA: maize silage treated with _L. plantarum_; LPA: maize silage treated with _L.