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. 2013 Dec;26(12):1689-97.
doi: 10.5713/ajas.2013.13190.

Effects of physical form and urea treatment of rice straw on rumen fermentation, microbial protein synthesis and nutrient digestibility in dairy steers

P Gunun  1 , M Wanapat  1 , N Anantasook  1
Affiliations

Effects of physical form and urea treatment of rice straw on rumen fermentation, microbial protein synthesis and nutrient digestibility in dairy steers

P Gunun et al. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

This study was designed to determine the effect of physical form and urea treatment of rice straw on rumen fermentation, microbial protein synthesis and nutrient digestibility. Four rumen-fistulated dairy steers were randomly assigned according to a 2 (2 factorial arrangement in a 4 (4 Latin square design to receive four dietary treatments. Factor A was roughage source: untreated rice straw (RS) and urea-treated (3%) rice straw (UTRS), and factor B was type of physical form of rice straw: long form rice straw (LFR) and chopped (4 cm) rice straw (CHR). The steers were offered the concentrate at 0.5% body weight (BW) /d and rice straw was fed ad libitum. DM intake and nutrient digestibility were increased (p<0.05) by urea treatment. Ruminal pH were decreased (p<0.05) in UTRS fed group, while ruminal ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were increased (p<0.01) by urea treatment. Total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations increased (p<0.01) when steers were fed UTRS. Furthermore, VFA concentrations were not altered by treatments (p>0.05), except propionic acid (C3) was increased (p<0.05) in UTRS fed group. Nitrogen (N) balance was affected by urea treatment (p<0.05). Microbial protein synthesis (MCP) synthesis were greater by UTRS and CHR group (p<0.05). The efficiency of microbial N synthesis was greater for UTRS than for RS (p<0.05). From these results, it can be concluded that using the long form combined with urea treatment of rice straw improved feed intake, digestibility, rumen fermentation and efficiency of microbial N synthesis in crossbred dairy steers.

Keywords: Dairy Steers; Microbial Protein Synthesis; Physical Forms; Rice Straw; Rumen Fermentation; Urea Treatment.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Effect of physical form and urea treatment of rice straw on ruminal pH at 0, 2, 4, and 6 h-post feeding in dairy steers.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Effect of physical form and urea treatment of rice straw on rumen NH3-N concentration at 0, 2, 4, and 6 h-post feeding in dairy steers.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Effect of physical form and urea treatment of rice straw on BUN concentration at 0, 2, 4, and 6 h-post feeding in dairy steers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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