Interactions between chopping length and bacterium-enzyme inoculation-related lignocellulose degradation, lactic acid fermentation and the bacterial community of sudangrass silage

Sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense Stapf.) is one of the most widely cultivated annual forage grasses of the Poaceae family and serves as a high-yield, high-quality green forage crop with substantial promotion value. Advantages of sudangrass include rapid growth, vigorous regrowth capacity, drought tolerance, high biomass yield, and robust resistance to pests and diseases. Therefore, sudangrass has been extensively used for livestock feeding, aquaculture feed production, and pond ecosystem conservation in tropical and subtropical regions. Sudangrass ensiling can effectively preserve the nutritional components of crops, prevent nutrient loss, and prolong the shelf-life of forage while increasing palatability and improving transportability and storability, especially in the subtropical region of Guizhou Province, China. Additionally, ensiling reduces feeding costs and provides an efficient solution to winter feed shortages. However, there is limited research reporting the effects of chopping length on enhancing sudangrass silage quality, particularly regarding the interactive effects between different additive treatments and chopping lengths.