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Malpura and Kheri ewes (76) in their late gestation, weighing 34.40±0.95 kg were randomly selected and divided into 4 groups of 19 each (G1, G2, G3 and G4). Ewes in all the groups were grazed on natural rangeland from 07.00 h to 18.00 h. Ewes in G1were maintained on sole grazing while ewes in G2, G3 and G4, in addition to grazing received concentrate mixture at the rate of 1% of their body weight during late gestation, early lactation and entire last quarter of pregnancy to early quarter of lactation, respectively. The herbage yield of the community rangeland was 0.82 metric ton dry matter/hectare. The diet consisted of (%) Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) bhusa, (59.2), Babool pods and leaves (17.2), Bajra (Pennisetum typhoides) stubbles (8.8), Doob (5.3), Aak (4.2) and others (5.3). The nutrient intake and its digestibility were higher (p<0.01) in G2, G3 and G4 as compared to G1 because of concentrate supplementation. The intakes of DM (g/kg W 0.75 ), DCP (g/kg W 0.75 ) and ME (MJ/kg W 0.

A study to compare two feeding systems, stall feeding (SF) and grazing plus supplementation (GR) was carried out, based on intake, performance and rumen fermentation characteristics of lambs. While SF animals received ad libitum complete feed blocks (CFB), GR animals were allowed grazing for 8 h on a pasture and supplemented with concentrate mixture at 250 g per head per day. Intake in grazing animals was determined using chromium III oxide as internal marker. Intake of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and organic matter (OM) were higher ( P , 0.01) in SF than in GR animals. Similarly, digestibility of OM, CP and energy were higher ( P , 0.01) in SF animals. Average daily gain in SF animals (101 g) was significantly ( P , 0.01) higher than in GR animals (78 g) but total wool yield was similar for the two groups (856 g, SF; 782 g, GR). The pH of the rumen content, concentration of total volatile fatty acids and total activities of carboxymethyl cellulase, xylanase and esterase in the rumen liquor were similar. The concentrations (mg/dl) of total nitrogen (125, SF; 63, GR) and NH 3 -nitrogen (42, SF; 31, GR) were higher in SF animals than that of GR animals. A significantly higher activity ( P , 0.05) of microcrystalline cellulase (24.5 v. 7.7 units) and lower activity ( P , 0.05) of protease (309 v. 525 units), was observed in the rumen of SF animals than in GR animals. SF animals could therefore harness more energy through degradation of plant cell walls thus reducing breakdown of plant proteins as gluconeogenic source. The SF system of feeding where CFB was offered to sheep appeared superior to GR in terms of intake, nutrient utilisation and animal performance. Therefore the SF feeding system where CFB are offered to animals can be advocated as an alternative to grazing and supplementation feeding strategy for sheep production, especially where the pastures are highly eroded and need resting for regeneration or curing. The CFB feeding can also be adopted under adverse conditions like drought and famine, a common phenomenon in arid and semiarid conditions.

Aims:  Selection of white‐rot fungi of bio‐conversion of mustard straw (MS) into feed for ruminants. Methods and Results:  Mustard straw was cultured with Ganoderma applanatum, Coriolus versicolor and Phanerochaete chrysosporium for solid‐state fermentation at 35°C from 7 to 63 days for dilignification and for 21 days to study dry matter digestibility and protein enrichment. Lignin loss in fungus cultured straw varied between 100 and 470 g kg−1 lignin. Dilignification was higher between 7 and 28 days fermentation with C. versicolor. Among the three fungi P. chrysosporium was the most effective in degrading lignin for longer fermentation. In‐vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and crude protein content was higher in C. versicolor cultured straw. Large quantity of straw was cultured by C. versicolor for 21 days, for in vivo evaluation. Mean pH and metabolites of rumen fermentation were not different while, pH and volatile fatty acid increased at 6 h postfermentation on cultured straw feeding. Cultured straw fermentation increased (P = 0·001) small holotricks and reduced (P = 0·005) large holotricks population. Fungus cultures straw did not improve microbial enzyme concentration. Conclusions:  Coriolus versicolor and P. chrysosporium were the promising fungus for MS bio‐dilignification. Significance and Impact of the Study:  Coriolus versicolor treated MS improved dry matter digestibility and protein content.

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The objective of the experiment was to determine the optimum cultural [moisture levels (55, 60 and 70%), days of fermentation (7, 14 and 21), temperature (25 and 35°C) of incubation)] and nutritional parameters (urea addition (0 and 2%) and variable levels of single super phosphate (0.25 and 0.50% SSP)) for bio-processing of the mustard (Brassica campestris) straw (MS) under solidstate fermentation (SSF) system. The performance of SSF was assessed in terms of favorable changes in cell wall constituents, protein content and in vitro DM digestibility of the MS. Sorghum based inoculum (seed culture) of Ganoderma lucidum to treat the MS was prepared. The 50 g DM of MS taken in autoclavable polypropylene bags was mixed with a pre-calculated amount of water and the particular nutrient in the straw to attained the desired levels of water and nutrient concentration in the substrate. A significant progressive increase in biodegradation of DM (p<0.001), NDF (p<0.01) and ADF (p<0.05) was observed with increasing levels of moisture. Among the cell wall constituents the loss of ADF fraction was greatest compared to that of NDF. The loss of DM increased progressively as the fermentation proceeded and maximum DM losses occurred at 28 days after incubation. The protein content of the treated MS samples increased linearly up to the day 21 th of the incubation and thereafter declined at day 28 th , whereas the improvement in in vitro DM digestibility were apparent only up to the day 14 th of the incubation under SSF and there after it declined. The acid detergent lignin (ADL) degradation was slower during the first 7 days of SSF and thereafter increased progressively and maximum ADL losses were observed at the day 28 th of the SSF. The biodegradation of DM and ADL was not affected by the variation in incubation temperature. Addition of urea was found to have inhibitory effect on fungal growth. The effect of both the levels (0.25 and 0.50) of SSP addition in the substrate, on DM, NDF, ADF, cellulose and ADL biodegradation was similar. Similarly, the protein content and the in vitro DM digestibility remain unaffected affected due to variable levels of the SSP inclusion in the substrate. From the results it may be concluded that the incubation of MS with 60 percent moisture for 21 days at 35°C with 0.25 percent SSP was most suitable for MS treatment with Ganoderma lucidum. Maximum delignification, enrichment in the protein content and improvement in in vitro DM digestibility were achieved by adopting this protocol of bioprocessing of MS.