ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
This article is part of the Research TopicNatural Compounds/Products and Livestock Productivity: Enhancing Antioxidant Levels, Gut Health, Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Disease Control, Volume IIView all 12 articles
Effects of Walnut Green Hsuk on the Quality, Bacterial Community Diversity and In vitro rumen digestion characteristics of Whole-plant corn Silage
Provisionally accepted
- Xinjiang Agricultural University, Ürümqi, China
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This study investigated the effects of walnut green husk (WGH) supplementation on whole-plant corn silage quality, bacterial community structure, and in vitro rumen fermentation. Silage was prepared using whole-plant corn at milk-ripening stage with WGH added at 0 (CK), 15 (A1), 30 (A2), and 45 (A3) g·kg⁻¹ fresh matter. After 60 days of ensiling under dark anaerobic conditions (16-22°C), WGH supplementation significantly increased dry matter and crude protein content while reducing acetic acid, propionic acid, and NH₃-N concentrations (P < 0.05). The treatment also enhanced lactic acid bacteria populations, suppressed yeast growth, and improved aerobic stability. Microbial analysis revealed that WGH supplementation reduced bacterial diversity but optimized community structure. The A2 and A3 groups showed increased Firmicutes_D abundance but decreased Bacteroidota and Proteobacteria. At genus level, beneficial taxa including Lactiplantibacillus, Levilactobacillus, and Lacticaseibacillus were enriched, with A2 treatment showing the highest relative abundance (82.79%, 66.48%, 14.03%, and 4.22%, respectively). In vitro rumen fermentation demonstrated that WGH enhanced most digestive enzyme activities (except protease), significantly improving IVDMD, IVCPD, and IVNDFD (P < 0.05), though IVADFD decreased (P < 0.05). These findings support WGH as a functional unconventional feed resource that improves silage quality through beneficial microbial modulation. The optimal inclusion rate is recommended at 30 g·kg⁻¹, with future research needed to explore large-scale application and underlying mechanisms.
Keywords: Walnut Green Husk, Whole-plant corn, Silage quality, In vitro nutrientdigestibility, Digestive enzyme activity, Bacterial community diversity
Received: 07 Oct 2025; Accepted: 16 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Abulaiti, Wang and Yimamu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Aibibula Yimamu
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