Effect of new strains of <italic>Lentilactobacillus buchneri</italic> as inoculants in sorghum silage on the fermentative profile, aerobic stability, and voluntary intake in lambs.

We evaluated the effects of various wild strains of <italic>Lentilactobacillus buchneri</italic> on the fermentation and aerobic stability of sorghum silages as well as on their intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance, and ruminal fermentation in lambs. Four Santa Inês × Dorper crossbred lambs with rumen fistulations were distributed using a 4 × 4 Latin square design. The experimental diets were as follows: silage without inoculation (<bold>Control)</bold>, silage inoculated with a commercial inoculant (<bold>Lalsil As</bold>), silage inoculated with <italic>L. buchneri</italic> strain LB 50.4 (<bold>LB 50.4</bold>), and silage inoculated with <italic>L. buchneri</italic> strain LB 90.14 (<bold>LB 90.14</bold>). All inoculated silages and their total mixed ration (TMR) remained stable over 7 d of air exposure, while the control silage and its TMR lost their aerobic stability after ±40.96 h (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001). The silage containing LB 50.4 exhibited the lowest digestibility of dry matter (<italic>P</italic> = 0.037), organic matter (<italic>P</italic> = 0.037), and non-fibrous carbohydrates (<italic>P</italic> = 0.012). The diet based on LB 50.4 silage showed the highest acetate to propionate ratio (<italic>P</italic> = 0.005). The strains of <italic>L. buchneri</italic> used in this study effectively improved the aerobic stability of sorghum silage and the respective diets without compromising nutrient intake or ruminal fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]