{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T15:51:12Z","timestamp":1778601072276,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]],"date-time":"2025-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757376000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Finance","award":["CARS-34"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CARS-34"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigated whole-plant maize at three harvest stages: one-third milk line (ML, 1\/3 ML), two-thirds ML (2\/3 ML), and the mature stage. Two packing densities were applied: 350 kg\/m3 (low-density group) and 700 kg\/m3 (high-density group). Results showed that starch content increased significantly as the maize matured. The 2\/3 ML stage exhibited a 34.0% increase in starch content compared to the 1\/3 ML stage (27.96 g\/kg dry matter: DM vs. 20.87 g\/kg DM, p &lt; 0.01), while the mature stage showed a 13.4% increase compared to the 2\/3 ML stage (31.70 g\/kg DM vs. 27.96 g\/kg DM, p &lt; 0.01). After 60 days of ensiling, DM loss was significantly lower in the high-density group compared to the low-density group (3.37% vs. 9.39%, p &lt; 0.05). From day 7 to day 60 of fermentation, the lactic acid content in the high-density group was consistently higher than in the low-density group by 14.29%, 10.00%, 8.33%, and 9.68%, respectively (p &lt; 0.01). The relative abundance of Clostridium in both groups gradually increased during the first 30 days of fermentation, peaking on day 30 (0.05% in the high-density group vs. 0.12% in the low-density group, p &lt; 0.05), and declined thereafter. On day 30, the abundance of Ruminiclostridium was significantly lower in the high-density group compared to the low-density group (0.12% vs. 0.40%, p &lt; 0.05). Clostridium was negatively correlated with lactic acid bacteria (R2 = \u22120.58, p &lt; 0.01). It also showed negative correlations with pH, lactic acid, and acetic acid (R2 = \u22120.25, \u22120.23, and \u22120.09, respectively; p &gt; 0.05), but a positive correlation with ammoniacal nitrogen (R2 = 0.28, p &gt; 0.05). In conclusion, the 2\/3 ML stage is the optimal harvest time for whole-plant maize. Additionally, a higher packing density can suppress spoilage-associated Clostridium and enhance silage quality.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms13092096","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]],"date-time":"2025-09-09T08:40:15Z","timestamp":1757407215000},"page":"2096","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Effect of Harvest Time and Packing Density on the Quality and Clostridium in Maize Silage"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Fan","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Grassland Science, School of Animal Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dongqing","family":"Fu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grassland Science, School of Animal Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lihe","family":"Su","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grassland Science, School of Animal Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xue","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grassland Science, School of Animal Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jiaying","family":"Lv","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grassland Science, School of Animal Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chunhui","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Grassland Science, School of Animal Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1121","DOI":"10.1007\/s00253-008-1669-x","article-title":"Diversity of microbial communities in open mixed culture fermentations: Impact of the pH and carbon source","volume":"80","author":"Temudo","year":"2008","journal-title":"Appl. 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