Description of the viral and bacterial diversity during a 40 day grass ensilaging

Fresh grass was cut in August 2021 at Hohenheim University and chopped into smaller pieces using a straw grass grinder. Approximately 600 g of grass were packed in 1 L airtight glass jars (Weck, Germany). In total, 15 jars were prepared and randomly assigned to 5 sampling times, three jars per time point (2, 4, 8, 15 and 40 days). Each jar was weighed after being sealed and before opening on the respective sample day. Additionally, 500 g of fresh grass was vacuum-packed in plastic bags and frozen at -80 ?C. Jars were maintained in the dark at 24 ?C until sampling. During each sampling time, three jars were opened and the pH was determined using 25 g of the material. Silage was mixed with 100 mL of distilled water and after 15 min, the pH was measured using a pH-metre (Mettler Toledo, Switzerland), while stirring the solution.