Effect of cellulase and urea addition on in situ degradability and preference for pruned persimmon branch chips in cattle
2011
Takahashi, Toshiyoshi | Horiguchi, Ken‐ichi | Yoshida, Norio | Cao, Yang
This study examined the use of pruned persimmon branches (PPBs) as feed for effective use of farm waste and environmental conservation. Because cellulase can hydrolyze the fibrous components in forages and increase its digestibility, and urea can improve the forage value of low‐quality roughage, PPBs were treated with cellulase or urea in an attempt to obtain a high quality roughage. The experimental treatments included PPBs without additive, with cellulase (0.75% dry matter [DM] basis) or urea (2.0% DM basis) and rice straw as a common roughage in Japan. In situ digestion and preference trials were conducted in cattle to examine the feed characteristics of the four feeds. Crude protein of urea‐treated PPBs was 7.1% on a DM basis, which was higher than that in the other three experimental feeds. Fibrous components were lower in urea‐treated PPBs than in untreated and cellulase‐treated PPBs. The DM disappearance rates of the three kinds of PPBs changed remarkably less than did those of rice straw from the start of the experiment to 72 h. There was little difference in DM disappearance among the three kinds of PPBs. The relative preference was 100% for rice straw, 75% for urea‐treated PPBs, 35% for cellulase‐treated PPBs, and 29% for untreated PPBs. Preference was significantly higher for rice straw and urea‐treated PPBs than for the other two PPBs. The results suggest that, in preserved PPBs, urea supplementation improves preference for the feed in cattle, and cellulase and urea supplementation increases effective degradability.
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