Intake, digestibility, rumen characteristics and microbial protein synthesis efficiency in bovine and bubaline fed sugar cane silage with additives

Abstract

-Intake and total and ruminal digestibility, ruminal characteristics and microbial synthesis efficiency in bovine and bubaline fed sugar cane silages treated with microbial additive Lactobacillus buchneri (inoculate) and the addition of: cassava byproduct meal at 250 g/kg; soybean hulls at 250 g/kg; and urea at 33 g/kg, in natural matter were evaluated. The forage:concentrate ratio was 600:400 g/kg. Bubaline body weight (BW) was 403±49 kg and bovine BW was 492±10 kg. The experimental design consisted of two 4 × 4 Latin squares in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement. The average DM intake did not differ between species, and the diet with urea showed lowest intake (13 g/kg BW). Among the diets, the one with soybean hulls addition increased the total digestibility of DM, organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), while addition of urea reduced the DM, OM and non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC) total digestibility in both species. Bovines have higher ruminal digestibility of NFC in the diet with addition of inoculate, inoculate + soybean meal and inoculate + urea diets than bubaline.Ruminal liquid pH was higher for bubaline (6.61) than bovines (6.48). Diets with addition of cassava byproduct and soybean hulls presented higher ruminal short chain fatty acids concentrations. Ruminal ammonia concentration (N-NH 3 ) did not differ between species and the treatment with urea presented the highest value of N-NH 3 (17.25 mg/100 mL). Liquid passage rate was higher for bubaline (12.9%/h) than bovines (9.9%/h). Bubaline has higher microbial synthesis efficiency than bovine:35.1 vs 24.6 g of N-microbial/kg OM of the total rumen digestibility, regardless of the diet.

Can cactus (Opuntia stricta [Haw.] Haw) cladodes plus urea replace wheat bran in steers’ diet?

“…In this study, an increase in the intake of NPN, derived from urea, probably resulted in a higher concentration of rumen NH 3 -N (24.5 mg/dL), as found by [ 34 ]. The maximum rumen NH 3 -N presented is accordance with the amount (10 to 23 mg/dL) suggested by [ 35 ] for maximum for maximum rumen fermentation activity and microbial growth.…”

Improving the quality of rice straw by urea and calcium hydroxide on rumen ecology, microbial protein synthesis in beef cattle

“…() reported that ruminal bacteria obtained from 630 to 800 g/kg of their N requirements from the ruminal NH 3 ‐N pool and thus the remaining 200 to 370 g/kg of their N requirements from non‐NH 3 ‐N (NAN), primarily in the form of amino acid and peptides. However, the total amount of microbial protein flowing to the small intestine depends on nutrient availability and efficiency of use of these nutrients by the ruminal bacteria (Cutrignelli et al., ; Calabrò et al., ; Maeda et al., ).…”

Increasing levels of concentrate digestibility, performance and ingestive behavior in lambs

“…The levels of 60 and 80% concentrate feeding optimized DM digestibility and performance of crossbred lambs without relevant affect DM and water intake and ingestive behavior. According to Maeda et al (2012), non-fiber carbohydrates have a total apparent digestibility coefficient near of 90% and fiber carbohydrates between 30 and 50%, which reflects increased in DM digestibility with lower levels of fiber carbohydrates.…”