This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effects of citral （Citral， C） on the growth of Aspergillus flavus （A. flavus） and the synthesis of aflatoxin B1 （AFB1） in whole-plant corn silage. The experiment used whole-plant corn at the milk stage as the material， which was ensiled for 90 days and then inoculated with A. flavus spores （1.0×10⁷ cfu·g^-1）. Citral was added at 0.4 mL·kg^-1 （C group）， with an untreated group as the control （CK group）. The antifungal activity of citral was evaluated by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration （MIC）， mycelial dry weight， colony diameter， fermentation parameters， microbial counts， and the AFB1 content after aerobic exposure. The results showed that the MIC of citral against A. flavus was 0.4 μL·mL^-1， significantly inhibiting mycelial growth and spore germination （P<0.05）. After 7 days of aerobic exposure， the AFB1 content in the C group was below the detection limit （0.05 μg·kg^-1）， while it reached 3.66 μg·kg^-1 in the CK group. Additionally， citral significantly reduced the abundance of E. coli， yeasts， and harmful fungi （e.g.， Aspergillus） （P<0.05）， while mitigating pH increase and dry matter loss. In conclusion， citral effectively suppressed A. flavus growth and AFB1 synthesis， improving the aerobic stability of silage， thereby providing a theoretical basis for the development of plant-derived antifungal agents.

Citral  /  Aspergillus flavus  /  Whole-crop corn silage  /  Aerobic exposure