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The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of levels of cottonseed meal with various carbohydrate sources in concentrate on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in dairy bulls. Four, 6 months old dairy bulls were randomly assigned to receive four dietary treatments according to a 2×2 factorial arrangement in a 4×4 Latin square design. Factor A was carbohydrate source; cassava chip (CC) and cassava chip+rice bran in the ratio of 3:1 (CR3:1), and factor B was cotton seed meal levels in the concentrate; 109 g CP/kg (LCM) and 328 g CP/kg (HCM) at similar overall CP levels (490 g CP/kg). Bulls received urea-lime treated rice straw ad libitum and were supplemented with 10 g of concentrate/kg BW. It was found that carbohydrate source and level of cotton seed meal did not have significant effects on ruminal pH, ammonia nitrogen concentration, microbial protein synthesis or feed intake. Animals which received CC showed significantly higher BUN concentration, ruminal propionic acid and butyric acid proportions, while dry matter, organic matter digestibility, populations of total viable bacteria and proteolytic bacteria were lower than those in the CR3:1 treatment. The concentration of total volatile fatty acids was higher in HCM than LCM treatments, while the concentration of butyric acid was higher in LCM than HCM treatments. The population of proteolytic bacteria with the LCM treatments was higher than the HCM treatments; however other bacteria groups were similar among the different levels of cotton seed meal. Bulls which received LCM had higher protein digestibility than those receiving HCM. Therefore, using high levels of cassava chip and cotton seed meal might positively impact on energy and nitrogen balance for the microbial population in the rumen of the young dairy bull.

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Four, ruminally fistulated crossbred (Brahman×native) beef cattle with initial body weight of 420±15 kg were randomly assigned according to a 4×4 Latin square design. The dietary treatments were mulberry leaf pellet (MUP) supplementation at 0, 200, 400 and 600 g/hd/d with rice straw fed to allow ad libitum intake. All steers were kept in individual pens and supplemented with concentrate at 5 g/kg of body weight daily. The experiment was 4 periods, and each lasted 21 d. During the first 14 d, all steers were fed their respective diets ad libitum and during the last 7 d, they were moved to metabolism crates for total urine and fecal collection. It was found that increasing MUP levels resulted in linearly increasing rice straw and total intakes (p<0.05). Ruminal temperature and pH were not significantly affected by MUP supplementation while NH3-N concentration was increased (p<0.05) and maintained at a high level (18.5 mg/dl) with supplementation of MUP at 600 g/hd/d. Similarly, viable total bacteria in the rumen and cellulolytic bacteria were enriched by MUP supplementation at 600 g/hd/d. However, the rumen microbial diversity determined with a PCR-DGGE technique showed similar methanogenic diversity between treatments and sampling times and were similar at a 69% genetic relationship as determined by a UPGMA method. Based on this study, it could be concluded that supplementation of MUP at 600 g/hd/d improved DM intake, ruminal NH3-N, and cellulolytic bacteria thus iimproving rumen ecology in beef cattle fed with rice straw.

Whole crop rice was harvested 120 days after planting and chopped to 2-3-cm length for silage making. The whole crop rice silage (WCRS) was supplemented with different levels of molasses and urea to study nutritive value and in situ rumen degradability. The ensiling study was randomly assigned according to a 6 × 5 factorial arrangement, in which the first factor was molasses (M) supplementation at M0, M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 %, and the second was urea (U) supplementation at U0, U0.5, U1.0, U1.5, and U2.0 % of the crop dry mater (DM), respectively. After 45 days of ensiling, temperature, pH, chemical composition, and fermentation end products of the silages were measured. Ten U and M treatment combinations of WCRS were subsequently selected to study rumen degradability by nylon bag technique. The results showed that temperature and pH of the silages linearly increased with U supplementation level, while total volatile fatty acid (TVFA), acetic acid (C2) and propionic acid (C3) decreased. In contrast, increasing level of M supplementation decreased WCRS temperature and pH, whereas TVFA, C2, and C3 concentrations increased dramatically. Both M and U supplementation increased concentration of butyric acid (C4). Dry matter, organic matter (OM), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of the silages were not influenced by either M or U supplementation. Increasing U supplementation increased crude protein (CP) content, while M level did not show any effect. Furthermore, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content in silage was decreased by both M and U supplementation. The results of the in situ study showed that M and U supplementation increased both ruminal DM and OM degradation. The water-soluble fraction (a) was the highest in WCRS U1.5M3 and lowest in U0M0. Increasing M and U supplementation levels increased the potentially degradable fraction (b) of both DM and OM. Total rumen degradable fraction (a + b) was highest in WCRS U1.5M3, whereas OM degradability was highest in U0M3. However, effective degradation of both DM and OM were the highest in WCRS U1.5M3 and the lowest in U0M0. We conclude that supplementation of U and M increases WCRS quality and rumen degradability. Supplementation of U at 1.5 and M at 3-4 % of the crop DM is recommended for lactating dairy cows and fattening beef cattle.