Stover chemical composition in three corn cultivars after sterilization or colonization with Ganoderma lucidum mycelia

Nutritional quality in grain by-products such as corn stover can be improved with processes such as steam sterilization and fungus inoculation. The stover of two native corn cultivars and one commercial hybrid cultivar were steam sterilized or inoculated with mycelium of the white-rot fungus Ganoderma lucidum. The experimental design was completely random with a 3x4 factorial arrangement, one additional treatment and four replicates. The four treatments were untreated stover, sterilization and immediate drying, sterilization and drying after 15 d, and colonization with G. lucidum for 15 d; pure mycelia were also analyzed to establish values for the fungus. Five variables were measured: in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), lignin and crude protein (CP). The three cultivars differed (P<0.0001) in terms of digestibility, with cultivar A having the highest values. Digestibility was lowest (P<0.05) in the G. lucidem-colonized stovers (P<0.05), intermediate in the untreated stovers and highest in the sterilized stovers. Contents of NDF, ADF, lignin, and CP differed (P<0.0001) between the cultivars and treatments (P<0.0001). Cultivar A had less NDF than the other cultivars. The untreated stovers had less NDF than the sterilized and G. lucidem-colonized stovers. For both ADF and lignin, the untreated stovers had the lowest values, the sterilized stovers had intermediate values and the colonized stovers had the highest. Crude protein (CP) differed between the cultivars (P<0.0001), and the colonized stovers had the highest values (P<0.05). Inoculation of corn stover with Ganoderma lucidum mycelia did not improve digestibility after fifteen days colonization, but slightly increased crude protein content.