Effects-of-Fodder-Tree-Leave-Supplementation-for-Basal-Rice-Straw-Diet-on-Rumen-Ammonia-Ph-and-Degradation-Characteristics-in-Sheep
Date
2023
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Online Journal of Animal and Feed Research
Abstract
Fodder tree leaves (FTLs) contain high levels of protein, vitamins, and minerals that play a major role in
role in enhancing roughage intake by ruminants, thus improving low-quality roughage utilization. The study
sought to measure the rumen degradation characteristics, pH, and ammonia N concentration of sheep fed
rice straw (RS) and supplemented with FTLs. Four forest-type rumen-fistulated rams of an average weight of
19.0±1.2 kg were randomly assigned to one of four treatments in a 4 × 4 Latin square design. Treatment
diets consisted of urea-ammoniated straw (UAS; control), RS+100% Leucaena leucocephala (L), RS+100%
Samanea saman (S), and RS+50% L+50% S (LS). The data obtained were subjected to the Glimmix procedure of
SAS (2016) and significant means were separated using Tukey’s test at P<0.05. Treatments differed
significantly (P<0.001) in the quantity of readily soluble materials (a), rate of degradation (c), and a
potentially degradable fraction (P), with LS recording the highest a, c, and P among the treatments. Ruminal
pH and ammonia concentrations differed significantly (P<0.0001) among the treatments. Overall mean
rumen pH values obtained ranged from 6.44 in UAS to 6.72 in the S-supplemented diet, whereas mean rumen
Ammonia values ranged from 4.59 mg/100 ml in sheep fed the UAS diet to 9.15 mg/L in sheep fed the L diet. The
pH values obtained imply that the experimental diets could improve rumen fermentation and, hence, serve as
good sources of feed for ruminants. The rumen DM degradation values indicated that sufficient amounts of
DM would be degraded over a period of time, thus releasing substantial quantities into the small intestines
for digestion to provide essential nutrients needed for better animal performance. The rumen ammonia
values obtained were higher than the minimum values recommended for optimal microbial activity for
animals fed lignocellulosic materials. This indicated that such FTLs could be utilized for moderate animal
performance, especially during the dry seasons when natural pastures are qualitatively and quantitatively
poor.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Ammonia concentration, Degradation, Sheep