• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.27-31
• /
• 2005

Wheat straw was treated with microwave for 4 min and 8 min at a power of 750 W and frequency of 2,450 MHz. Chemical compositions of untreated, 4 min treated and 8 min treated straws were analyzed and in sacco degradabilities of all these straws in yak rumens were measured. Microwave treatment didn't significantly (p>0.05) affect the chemical composition of the straw. In sacco dry matter (DM) degradability of the straw after 18 h incubation in rumen was significantly (p<0.01) improved by microwave treatment. In sacco crude protein (CP) degradability of the straw was not (p>0.05) affected by microwave treatment. In sacco organic matter (OM) degradability of the straw was increased (p<0.01) by around 20% for both the 4 min and 8 min microwave treatment, that of acid detergent fibre (ADF) was increased (p<0.01) by 61.6% and 62.8%, and that of ash free ADF was enhanced by 72.1% and 69.6% for the 4 min and 8 min microwave treatment respectively. No significant difference was observed between the 4 min and 8 min microwave treatment on the degradability of DM, OM, CP, ADF and ash-free ADF of the straw.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.225-231
• /
• 2009

The objective of this experiment was to study the effects of grass maturity at harvest on the nutritive value of grass silage (GS) in relation to voluntary intake, digestibility, nitrogen (N) utilization and in sacco dry matter (DM) degradability. Silage was cut from a sward dominated by orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) at the late-vegetative (early-cut), internode elongation (mediumcut) and flowering (late-cut) stages of growth. The DM yield at harvest was the lowest for early-cut silage (5.4 t/ha) and increased to 6.5 and 7.0 t/ha for the medium and late-cut silage respectively. As the crop matured, the crude protein (CP) concentration decreased significantly (p<0.05) and there was a marked increase in acid detergent fiber (ADF) concentration (p<0.001). The three different silages were offered to four 18-month old Charolais wether sheep to measure the voluntary intake, in vivo digestibility and N retention over four 21-day periods in an incomplete changeover design. Silage degradability characteristics were determined using four fistulated sheep to measure DM degradability over 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h. There was a linear decrease in the voluntary intake of silage fresh matter, DM, organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), digestibility of DM, OM, NDF, ADF and CP, and digestibility of OM in DM (Dvalue) ($P_L<0.01$) as harvesting of grass was delayed. Nitrogen intake, N output in urine, N output in faeces and N balance also linearly decreased ($P_L<0.01$) with postponed harvesting of grass for silage. DM degradability and effective degradability (ED) significantly decreased with increasing maturity of grass at harvest. The results suggest that harvesting date has a significant influence on the nutritive value of GS in terms of intake, digestibility, N balance and in sacco degradability in the rumen. It was concluded that early harvest GS ensured higher intake, digestibility, N intake and DM degradability in comparison with the medium and the late cut GS as a result of improved rumen N efficiency and utilization probably due to a better balance of available energy and protein.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 2001

Ruminal degradation characteristics of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and crude protein (CP) in fresh leaves of two Japanese native grasses (Zoysia japonica and Miscanthus sinensis) and one sown temperate grass (Dactylis glomerata) were investigated by an in sacco method in spring (mid-May), summer (mid-July) and autumn (mid-September). Japanese native grasses had higher NDF and lower CP concentrations than D. glomerata, and the CP concentration in native grasses decreased in autumn. Ruminal degradability of DM, NDF and CP was lower in native grasses than in D. glomerata (p<0.05) in all seasons. DM and NDF degradability decreased in summer for Z. japonica and D. glomerata, while it decreased in autumn for M. sinensis. CP degradability in Z. japonica was constant throughout the seasons, whereas that in M. sinensis greatly decreased in summer and autumn (p<0.05). It was concluded that Z. japonica could stably supply ruminally digestible nutrients for grazing animals in Japanese native pasture. However, the degradation characteristics of freshly chopped native grasses did not fit the exponential model of $D=a+b(1-e^{-ct})$ proposed by Ørskov and McDonald.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.11
• /
• pp.1606-1613
• /
• 2015

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of Yerba Mate (YM) supplementation on nutrients' degradation, in vitro dry matter disappearance, gas production and rumen ammonia concentration. Three rumen-fistulated Holstein Friesian cows were used for the in situ incubations and provided rumen liquor for in vitro incubations. The inclusion of YM in a control diet (pasture+pellets) affected some in sacco degradation parameters. YM supplementation decreased the effective degradability and degradation rate of pasture crude protein (CP), and it seems to slow down the degradation of pasture neutral detergent fiber. A significant increase of degradation of pasture acid detergent fiber (ADF) was detected after YM inclusion in the control diet. YM supplementation reduced in vitro gas production of pasture and ammonia concentration of pellets. The addition of YM in ruminant diet could decrease ammonia production and increase protein availability for productive purposes. The moderate presence of tannins in YM could have affected the degradation kinetics of pasture CP and ADF and the ammonia production of pellets.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.433-442
• /
• 2003

The objective of these studies were to examine the effects of processing methods of corn grains on in vitro dry matter digestability and in sacco degradability in the rumen by three ruminally cannulated dry Holstein cows. The corns for these experiments were untreated; whole corn L(density; 660 g/$\ell$), whole corn H(density; 740 g/$\ell$), and treated by four different types: Ground corn, 3.8 mm, 2.8 mm, and 1.5 mm flaked corns. The results obtained were summarized as follows: The DM degradabilities, after 48 hr incubation by in sacco method, were the highest(94.4, 88.0 and 87.0%, respectively) in 1.5 mm flaked corn, ground corn, and 2.8 mm flaked corn. The 3.8 mm flaked corn was degraded significantly lower than these. Until 12 hr incubation, whole corn L tended to be degraded little more than whole corn H, was not significantly different. However, after 24 hr incubation, the significant differences between whole corn L and whole corn H were shown(P<0.05). The DM digestabilities by in vitro digestion were the highest for 1.5 mm flaked corn and ground corn(92.3 and 91.2%, respectively)(P<0.05), followed by 2.8 mm and 3.8 mm flaked corn(83.9 and 83.4%, respectively), tended to be similar to those by in sacco method. Whole corn L was digested twice more rapidly than whole corn H. Summarizing the experimental data, compared with unprocessed corns, the flaked corns were significantly increased in the degradabilities of dry matter in the rumen. In addition, as increasing the flaking degree of corn, the degradabilities of dry matter were significantly improved. Referring to these kinds of physical characteristics of grain sources in the ruminal degradabilities, it is believed to be possible to optimize the environment of the fermentation in the rumen.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.16 no.9
• /
• pp.1303-1308
• /
• 2003

Samples of eleven brown midrib (ICSU 96031, ICSU 93046, ICSU 96082, ICSU 96078, ICSU 96075, ICSU 95101, ICSU 96034, ICSU 96063, ICSU 45116, ICSA 93-3 and ICSA 3845 X 3816) and nine white midrib genotypes (ICSU 96050, ICSU 96030, ISU 95082, SSG 59-3, FSHI 93-1, FSHI 2219A X 3211, HC 171, ICSA 93-2 and ICSA 93-1) based on their phenotypic appearance were collected at 50 per cent flowering from the sorghum germplasm grown at Research farm of IGFRI, Jhansi. These genotypes were evaluated with respect to crude protein, fiber composition, in-sacco dry matter, OM, cell wall components disappearance/digestibility besides the fodder yield, total phenolic and availability index values. Brown midrib genotypes were lower (p<0.05) in NDF, ADF, cellulose and acid detergent lignin concentration than white midrib genotypes. Mean NDF, ADF, cellulose and lignin contents were 69.4, 42.1, 35.4 and 5.7% in brown mid rib vis-a vis 75.8, 47.5, 39.6 and 7.3% in white mid rib genotypes. Nonsignificant (p>0.05) differences were observed in dry matter, crude protein and organic matter contents between brown midrib and white midrib genotypes. Phenolic contents were significantly (p<0.05) lower in browm mid rib (0.2) than white mid rib (0.3%) sorghum. Brown midrib genotypes exhibited significantly (p<0.05) higher in-sacco DM, OM and CP disappearance than normal (white midrib) genotypes. The mean degradability of DM, OM and CP was 64.1, 62.6 and 79.6% in brown mid rib and 53.1, 54.0 and 76.6% in white mid rib genotypes, respectively. There were no significant (p>0.05) differences between genotypes in extent of fiber fraction degradability though in-sacco NDF and ADF degradability was more by 5 and 4 units, respectively in brown midrib genotypes vis-a-vis white midrib genotypes. Average fodder yield (green and dry g/plant) and availability index (%) values were significantly (p<0.05) higher for brown midrib (474.2, 129.8 and 80.4) genotypes than white midrib (375.0, 104.8 and 69.2) genotypes. Lignin contents had significant negative correlation with DM, OM, NDF and ADF degradability. The results of the study revealed that brown midrib genotypes are superior not only with regard to chemical entities and disappearance of DM and fiber fractions but also better in respect of fodder yield and availability index values. Thus, brown midrib sorghum strains may be useful in increasing digestibility, intake, feed efficiency and animal performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.12 no.8
• /
• pp.1222-1227
• /
• 1999

Effect of three major cropping seasons and five fertilizer treatments on botanical composition, nutritional composition and in sacco digestibility of native grasses grown in 30 experimental plots of a medium fertile land was determined. It was observed that all the major grass species were grown in all seasons but their predominancy of growth was different. During the study the predominant grass species were Panicum repens (Angta), Fimvristylis miliacea (Joina), Cyanolis axillaries (Kanainala), Cynodon dactylon (Durba) and Cyperus iria (Phulchaise) which contributed about 27, 20, 13, 11 and 9% of the total grass yield, respectively. Dry matter (DM) contents was higher in dry followed by monsoon and summer seasons (p<0.05). Crude protein (CP) content in the summer and monsoon appeared to be higher (p<0.05) than that of dry season. Organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) were higher (p<0.05) in dry and monsoon than in summer season. Application of urea fertilizer and cowdung increased 28.2% of CP content of the grasses, but decreased 19.5 and 9.8% of DM and NDF contents, respectively. The potential degradation of DM and CP of the grasses grown in summer were 4.1 and 8.4% and 3.9 and 5.8% higher than those of monsoon and dry seasons, respectively, and both of these increased (11.3 and 5.9%, respectively) with the application of cowdung and urea fertilizer.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.13 no.8
• /
• pp.1113-1120
• /
• 2000

Productivity, nutrient contents, in vitro gas production and in sacco degradability of different fractions and whole OPF were determined to assess the feeding value of OPF as a ruminant feed. An in vivo digestibility trial was also carried out using goat. Freshly harvested OPF was randomly collected, partitioned and weighed. An OPF from 21 years older palm weighed 13.4 kg and the annual fresh matter yield of petiole, leaflet and midrib was 46.5, 11.8 and 3.4 ton/ha, respectively. Leaflet contained 439, 926, 698, 501, 168, 196, 748 and 52 (g/kg) of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), cellulose (CE), hemicellulose (HC), total carbohydrate (TC) and non fiber carbohydrate (NFC), respectively. Petiole contained lower (p<0.01) DM, CP and EE contents than leaflet. Organic matter, CE and TC contents were higher (p<0.01) in petiole compared to leaflet. Silica and lignin contents were highest (p<0.01) in midrib followed by leaflet, whole OPF and least in petiole. The Ca, P, Na, K and Mg contents (g/100 g DM) of leaflet were 0.529, 0.182, 0.039, 0.876, and 0.168, respectively. In vitro DM digestibility (g/100 g) at 48 h of leaflet, petiole and midrib was 32.7, 38.7 and 30.2, respectively. The in sacco DM degradation (g/100 g) at 48 h of leaflet was higher than that of whole OPF, petiole and midrib. The in vivo digestibility of DM, OM, CP and ADF of whole OPF was 52, 56, 43 and 26%, respectively. It can be concluded that leaflet is the most nutritious fraction of OPF and midrib is the least. The nutrient content and digestibility of the whole OPF showed that OPF could be an alternative roughage source for ruminant diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 1990

The objective of this experiment was to compare the effect of pH-regulated alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) treatment of rice straw with those of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and anhydrous ammonia ($NH_3$) treatments on in sacco digestivility. Three non-lactating ruminally cannulated Holstein cows were fed a diet containing 90% forage and 10% concentrate on a dry matter (DM) basis. The AHP treatment significantly (p<0.05) reduced acid detergent lignin content of the straw, resulting in significant (p<0.05) increase of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and cellulose concentrations. Disappearance rates of DM and NDF of the straw significantly (p<0.05) increased at the incubation time of 24 h. On the other hand, those of ADF and cellulose were significantly (p<0.05) higher at the incubation time of 12 h than those of the others. The effective degradability of DM(EDDM), NDF(EDNDF), ADF(EDADF) and cellulose (EDCE) were determined using in sacco nylon bag technique on the basis of 0.05/h solid outflow rate. The greater differences (p<0.05) of EDDM, EDNDF, EDADF and EDCE were found between AHP treated straw and the others. In general, AHP treatment of the straw recorded higher digestion coefficients than untreated straw as well as NaOH and $NH_3$ treated straws. The results of this study demonstrate that AHP treatment can be used as a effective method for improving the nutritive value of rice straw for ruminants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
• /
• 2001.06a
• /
• pp.1268-1268
• /
• 2001

The availability of in vivo and in sacco degradability values are limited because those methods require work with fistulated animals and are rather complicated, labour intensive and expensive. That is to say, the dynamics and logistics of the methodology result in considerable work, due to limitations on the amount of samples, number of bags that can be placed in an animal and different time intervals to perform kinetic studies. Therefore, a simpler method is necessary to estimate the degradation characteristics of the feed. In this way, near infrared reflectance spectroscopy has been used to predict degradation characteristics of forages. In other hand, the possibility of achieving successful transfer of spectra and equations between instruments is closely related. The objective of this study was to confirm the potential of NIR to optimize work conditions to avoid duplicated efforts in collaborative trials on animal feeds evaluation between research institutions. For this purpose, one set with forty hays and dehydrated forages samples from SERIDA and ten samples with the same characteristics from SIA, were be used to create a spectral database. A calibration was developed using samples from degradation essays made in SERIDA to predict dry matter and crude protein degradability. With the addition of five samples from SIA in original calibration set, the effect of different origin and location was compensated.