# Fermentation Characteristics and Microbiota during the
## 3 Results  
### The Chemical Composition and Quality of Silage  
On the first day of ensiling, the pH value of LB was slightly higher than that of CK (Figure 1), but the pH values of FH and LP were significantly lower than that of CK (\(p<0.05\)). On the 7 th day of ensiling, the pH value of all treatments gradually decreased. On the 21 st day of ensiling, the pH values of FH and LB were significantly lower than that of the CK (\(p<0.05\)), while the pH value of LP was slightly lower than that of the CK, but there was no significant difference (\(p>0.05\)). On the 60 th day of ensiling, the pH of LP and LB decreased to the minimum, with an increase in the fermentation time, and the pH levels of all treatments were significantly lower than the CK (\(p<0.05\)). From the 21 st day to the 60 th day of ensiling, the pH value of FH basically remained unchanged. During the whole ensiling process, the lactic acid content of the FH group was higher than that of the CK, except the FH on the 60 th day (\(p<0.05\)). The content of lactic acid in LP reached the highest on the 60 th day of ensiling, and the content of lactic acid in LB and FH reached the highest on the 21 st day of ensiling, which increased by 131.2%, 47.5%, and 29.3%, compared to CK, respectively. The content of acetic acid in LB increased at first, and then decreased in the whole ensiling process. The content of acetic acid in LP and FH decreased at first, and then increased in the ensiling process; the content of acetic acid in the bacteria-added group was higher than the control group (\(p<0.05\)). In comparison to the CK, the acetic acid content in LB, LP, and FH increased by 41.6%, 109.1%, and 116.8%, respectively. On the 60 th day, after ensiling, the propionic acid content in LB was slightly lower than that in CK (\(p>0.05\)), and propionic acid content in LP and FH was significantly lower than that in CK (\(p<0.05\)); compared to the CK, propionic acid content in LB, LP, and FH decreased by 11.5%, 23.4%, and 28.0%, respectively. The content of butyric acid in LP was 54.7% higher than that in CK (\(p<0.05\)); the content of butyric acid in LB and FH was lower than that inCK (\(p<0.05\)). The content of butyric acid in LB and FH was 39.1% and 64.1% lower than that in CK, respectively. During the whole ensiling process, the dry matter content (DM) of all the treatments showed a trend of decreasing at first and then increasing (Figure 2). On the first day of ensiling, there was no significant difference between the DM content of each group and CK (\(p>0.05\)). On the 7 th and 21 st days, the DM content of FH was the highest, significantly higher than that of the other treatments (\(p<0.05\)); on the 45 th day, the DM content of LP was significantly higher than that of the other treatments (\(p<0.05\)). The DM content of CK was the highest, and was significantly higher than that of the other treatments (\(p<0.05\)). The crude protein (CP) content of the CK was the lowest during ensiling, and the change in CP in each treatment was not significant. On the 60 th day, the CP content of the LP was the highest, which was 8.9% higher than that of the CK, and the content of CP in LB and FH was 4.0% and 3.7% higher than that in CK. During ensiling, the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content in LP increased at first, and then decreased; NDF content in the other three treatments increased after 60 days ensiling; the content of NDF in the LP and FH groups was significantly lower than that in the control group (\(p<0.05\)); and the content of NDF in the LB group was slightly higher than that in the control group (\(p>0.05\)). The content of NDF in FH was the lowest, 19.9% lower than that in CK, and the content of NDF in the LP group was 12.6% lower than that in CK. The content of acid detergent fiber (ADF) in LB and FH showed an increasing trend, while the ADF content in LP showed an increasing trend, while the ADF content in LP showed an increasing trend. Figure 1: Changes in fermentation quality of _M. aquaticum_ silage during ensiling.