Abstract
Aim:To assess the effect of mustard cake (Brassica juncea L.) levels in concentrate mixtures and in composite feed mixtures (CFMs) on in-vitro fermentation characteristics and methane production.Materials and Methods:Five concentrate mixtures were prepared with containing 30% oil cake, where linseed cake was replaced by mustard cake at the rate of 0%, 7.5%, 15.0%, 22.5%, and 30% in concentrate mixture. Mustard cake contained glucosinolate 72.58 µmol/g oil free dry matter (DM) and contents in diet were 0, 5.4, 10.9, 16.3, and 21.8 µmol/g of concentrate mixture, respectively. Concentrate mixture containing 15.0% mustard cake was found to produced minimum methane which was then used for the preparation of CFM containing 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% levels with gram straw.Result:Increased levels of mustard cake in concentrate mixtures had a linear decrease (p<0.05) in the total gas production, and the 15% inclusion showed lowest methane concentration (quadratic, p<0.01). The degradability of DM and organic matter (OM) of concentrate mixtures did not change, however, pH and NH3-N concentrations of the fermentation medium showed linear (p<0.05) reductions with increased mustard cake levels. Increased levels of 15% mustard cake containing concentrate mixture in CFMs exhibited a trend (p=0.052) of increased gas production, whereas methane concentration in total gas, methane produced and degradability of DM and OM were also displayed a linear increase (p<0.05). However, the pH, NH3-N, and total volatile fatty acid levels decreased linearly (p<0.05) with increased levels of concentrate in CFMs.Conclusion:Reduction in methane production was evidenced with the inclusion of mustard cake in concentrate mixture at 15% level, and the CFMs with 25% concentrate, which contained 15% mustard cake, exhibited an improved fermentation and reduced methane production.
Highlights
Methane emitted by ruminants contributes sizably to the global methane emissions apart from representing a loss of feed energy, which can be used for productive purposes
MC inclusion levels did not show a significant change in total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) concentrations, a trend of decreased (p=0.057) TVFA in fermentation medium was observed with increased MC levels in concentrates
The results of this study have indicated that concentrates with 15% mustard cake has a decreased rumen methane production
Summary
Methane emitted by ruminants contributes sizably to the global methane emissions apart from representing a loss of feed energy, which can be used for productive purposes. Methane produced by ruminants contributes 20% of the total emissions through agricultural activities, in which each gram of methane production causes 55.65 kJ feed energy loss [1]. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated
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