ObjectiveIn order to improve fermentation quality of natural grasses, their silage preparation and fermentation quality in meadow steppe (MS) and typical steppe (TS) were studied.MethodsThe small-scale silages and round bale silages of mixed natural grasses in both steppes were prepared using the commercial lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculants Chikuso-1 (CH, Lactobacillus plantarum) and cellulase enzyme (AC, Acremonium cellulase) as additives.ResultsMS and TS contained 33 and 9 species of natural grasses, respectively. Stipa baicalensis in MS and Stipa grandi in TS were the dominant grasses with the highest dry matter (DM) yield. The crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber and water-soluble carbohydrate of the mixed natural grasses in both steppes were 8.02% to 9.03%, 66.75% to 69.47%, and 2.02% to 2.20% on a DM basis, respectively. All silages treated with LAB and cellulase were well preserved with lower pH, butyric acid and ammonia-N content, and higher lactic acid and CP content than those of control in four kinds of silages. Compared with CH- or AC-treated silages, the CH+ AC-treated silages had higher lactic acid content.ConclusionThe results confirmed that combination with LAB and cellulase may result in beneficial effects by improving the natural grass silage fermentation in both grasslands.

Silage was made from the dominant native grasses growing on the Inner Mongolian Plateau, including Baical needlegrass (Stipa baicalensis), China leymus (Leymus chinensis), Scabrous hideseedgrass (Cleistogenes squarrosa), Ruthenia medic (Melissilus ruthenicus) and Slenderleaf pulsatilla (Pulsatilla turczaninovii) and their microbial populations, chemical composition and silage fermentation were studied. Before ensiling, these grasses contained per g of fresh matter (FM) 105 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cell‐forming units (cfu), 107 aerobic bacteria, 103–105 coliform bacteria, yeasts and molds. The LAB counts increased rapidly after 2 days of fermentation and remained dominant during the fermentation process. After 7 days of ensiling, the coliform bacteria and molds were below detectable levels in all silages. The crude protein (CP) of these grasses ranged from 8.93 to 14.95% of dry matter (DM), and the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) comprised 58.29–70.05% of DM. Crude protein content of Ruthenia medic was higher and the NDF and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of Slenderleaf pulsatilla were lower than those of the other grasses. During ensiling, the organic matter, CP, ether extract, NDF and ADF contents in each kind of silage did not differ significantly (P > 0.05). During the progression of ensiling, the lactic acid and acetic acid contents increased in all silages, while the pH decreased. At day 30, all silages had similar fermentation patterns; more than 0.58% FM lactic acid was produced and the pH was reduced below 4.44. The results suggest that the native grasses can be used to prepare good quality silages.