In-Vivo Digestibility of Rice Straw Silage Added With Buffalo Rumen Microbes In Ongole Cross Breed

Abstract

An experiment was cunducted to investigate the effect of rice straw silage added with buffalo rumen microbes on the in- vivo nutrient digestibility in Ongole cross breed. Twelve male young cattle (222 + 14 kg) were distributed into 3 groups, with 4 animals in each group. The dietary treatments were : Elephant grass (R1) fresh rice straw (R2) and rice straw silage added with buffalo rumen microbes (R3). Grass and concentrate were given at 2.25% of live weight. The experiment was conducted for 15 weeks in Ciawi using total collection and arranged in a Completely Randomized Design. The results showed that digestible DM and OM intakes of R3 was 6882 and 5974 g/head/day which was not significantly different from R1 (6905 and 6188 g/head/day) but significantly different from R2 (6654 and 5588 g/head/day). The digestible protein intake of R3 was 905 g which was higher than R2 (827 g)(P 0.05) and 124 g higher than R2 (P < 0,05). DM and OM digestibilities of R3 (i.e. 68.16% and 78.02%) were significantly higher than R2 (61.79% and 71.58%) but similar to R1 (66.34% and 76.37%). Digestible neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and fat intake were different among each treatment. In conclusion, rice straw silage added with buffalo rumen microbes has a similar nutritive value as elephant grass when fed to Ongole crossbreed cattle. Key words : Rice straw silage, microbe, digestibility