## 3 Results  
### Effect of Different Growth Stages on Nutritional Components of Whole-Plant Millet Silage  
As the growth stage progressed, the DM content gradually increased, with the milk and dough stages around 30% and 35%, respectively, reaching the highest at the full-maturity stage (40%). CP content had a decreasing trend before increasing, with a significant increase at the dough stage compared to the milking and sizing stages (\(p<0.05\)). The WSC content during the sizing and dough stages was significantly higher than in the other growth stages (\(p<0.05\)), with no significant difference between them. At the full-maturity stage, the WSC content significantly decreased compared to other stages (\(p<0.05\)). Throughout maturation, the NDF content exhibited wave-like fluctuations, generally decreasing and reaching its lowest at full maturity of 54.2%. There were no significant differences in the ADF content between growth stages (Table 1). The number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was lowest during the milk stage and highest at full-maturity stage (\(p<0.05\)). Yeast counts were lowest in the milk stage and highest in the sizing stage. The general bacteria numbers were highest in the milk stage, significantly \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l l l l l} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Items**} & & \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Growth Stages**} \\ \cline{3-6}  & & **Heading Stage** & **Sizing Stage** & **Milk Stage** & **Dough Stage** & **Maturity Stage** \\ \hline \multirow{6}{*}{pre-ensiling} & DM (g/kg DM) & 255 \(\pm\) 2.25 c & 270 \(\pm\) 1.32 c & 296 \(\pm\) 1.70 b & 329 \(\pm\) 1.65 b & 371 \(\pm\) 1.05 a \\  & CP (g/kg DM) & 78.7 \(\pm\) 6.45 a & 54.7 \(\pm\) 0.95 b & 55.5 \(\pm\) 1.59 b & 49.8 \(\pm\) 2.45 b & 52.4 \(\pm\) 1.45 b \\  & WSC (g/kg DM) & 111 \(\pm\) 6.65 ab & 125 \(\pm\) 3.35 a & 68.1 \(\pm\) 4.50 d & 92.7 \(\pm\) 5.20 b & 73.6 \(\pm\) 7.85 cd \\  & NDF (g/kg DM) & 651 \(\pm\) 5.40 a & 661 \(\pm\) 9.10 a & 672 \(\pm\) 17.9 a & 659 \(\pm\) 5.75 a & 599 \(\pm\) 7.70 b \\  & ADF (g/kg DM) & 359 \(\pm\) 17.2 & 364 \(\pm\) 8.60 & 358 \(\pm\) 6.20 & 365 \(\pm\) 12.65 & 337 \(\pm\) 2.44 \\ \hline \multirow{6}{*}{post-ensiling} & DM (g/kg DM) & 271 \(\pm\) 1.71 e & 285 \(\pm\) 1.11 d & 300 \(\pm\) 0.65 c & 355 \(\pm\) 1.98 b & 402 \(\pm\) 2.90 a \\  & CP (g/kg DM) & 77.8 \(\pm\) 0.41 a & 51.8 \(\pm\) 0.36 c & 52.0 \(\pm\) 3.00 c & 66.8 \(\pm\) 2.03 b & 77.1 \(\pm\) 0.10 a \\ \cline{1-1}  & WSC (g/kg DM) & 19.2 \(\pm\) 0.81 c & 36.0 \(\pm\) 0.60 a & 24.0 \(\pm\) 0.91 b & 33.7 \(\pm\) 0.91 a & 16.5 \(\pm\) 0.50 d \\ \cline{1-1}  & NDF (g/kg DM) & 631 \(\pm\) 30.6 a & 591 \(\pm\) 3.06 b & 622 \(\pm\) 1.92 a & 629 \(\pm\) 3.11 a & 542 \(\pm\) 5.20 c \\ \cline{1-1}  & ADF (g/kg DM) & 352 \(\pm\) 13.0 & 360 \(\pm\) 6.65 & 356 \(\pm\) 3.75 & 355 \(\pm\) 7.65 & 333 \(\pm\) 11.20 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Note: Different lowercase letters in the same row indicate significant differences among various growth stages (\(p<0.05\)). DM: dry matter; CP: crude protein; WSC: water soluble carbohydrate; NDF: neutral detergent fiber; ADF: acid detergent fiber.  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Effects of different growth stages on nutrients of whole-plant millet silage. higher than in other stages (\(p<0.05\)), and notably lower in the dough and full-maturity stages compared to the other stages (\(p<0.05\)) (Table 2). The highest pH value was observed in the full-maturity stage (4.20), with the lowest in the milk stage (4.03), with significant differences (\(p<0.05\)). Additionally, the lactic acid (LA) content during the heading, dough, and full-maturity stages was significantly higher than during the milking and dough stages (\(p<0.05\)), although no significant differences were observed among the heading, dough, and full-maturity stages. As the growth stages progressed, the acetic acid (AA) content exhibited an increasing trend, leading to a decreasing trend in the LA/AA ratio. Specifically, the AA content at the dough stage was significantly higher than at the milk stage (\(p<0.05\)).