Constraints on the utilization of cereal straw in lactating dairy cows: A review from the perspective of systems biology

Nutrient availability of roughages in isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets alters the bacterial networks in the whole gastrointestinal tract of Hu sheep

“…When untreated straw was used as forage, its indigestible fibrous structure increased the diversity and richness of the rumen bacterial community together with the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, especially Prevotellaceae. However, it would reduce the relative abundance of Firmicutes and depress microbial protein synthesis resulting in the decline of nutrient utilization in the rumen, even under isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets [9,15,16]. Similar results were found in the in vitro rumen fermentation [17].…”

“…Wheat straw (WS) is the second most abundant agricultural residue in China [8]. Based on the high yield and low price of straws, WS could be the alternative roughage for ruminants to alleviate the shortage of high-quality forages such as alfalfa hay (AL) [9][10][11][12]. Previous studies reported that WS rich in effective neutral detergent fiber could maintain rumen health in ruminants fed high-grain diets [13].…”

“…However, the lignocellulosic structures in WS would cause a marked decrease in animal performance (e.g., feed intake and body weight decrease) and an increase in feed conversion ratio in ruminants [9,10] compared with alfalfa, even under the isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets. The reason could be that lower contents of total digestible nutrients in WS would affect the composition and colonization of microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract (GITs) of ruminants.…”

Performance and Haematological Indices of Balami Rams Fed Cattle Urine-Ensiled Sorghum Stover as Source of Non-Protein Nitrogen

“…Fermentable energy and protein deficiencies in crop residues coupled with their low digestibility impair intake, ruminal functions, and general productivity of animals (Aruwayo et al, 2018). Feed alone accounts for 60 -80% of the total cost of livestock production (Wang et al, 2022). Supplementary feed such as cereal grains, oil seed meals and their by-products which have the potential to provide all the required nutrients, especially energy and protein in the right quantities and proportions, is rather expensive and not within the reach of a poor farmer.…”

Wheat silage partially replacing oaten hay exhibited greater feed efficiency and fibre digestion despite low feed intake by feedlot lambs

“…Nevertheless, even if forage resources are in short supply in China's livestock farming, wheat is often fed to monogastric animals only in the form of grains. Wheat straws and other crop residues are removed or burned, resulting in a waste of resources and environmental pollution ( Wang et al., 2022a ). Even though these by-products were used as low-quality forages, their digestibility and crude protein content were proved too low to improve dry matter intake (DMI) and milk production ( Dong et al., 2022 ; Molavian et al., 2020 ).…”