Effect of Moisture, Sodium Hydroxide and Urea Treatments on Chemical Composition and In Vitro And In Sacco Dry Matter Digestibility Of Bagasse In Ruminants

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) bagasse, was subjected to different concentrations of sodium hydroxide and urea (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5% w/w) at different levels of moisture (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 ml/100 g bagasse. DM), stored in airtight polythene bags for 24 h, dried at 60°C and ground to 1.5–2.0 mm particle size. Sodium hydroxide treatment significantly decreased the NDF and ADL contents from 85.52 to 68.2%, and 11.95 to 6.83%, respectively, while there was an increase in ADF (from 48.08 to 57.16%) and cellulose (from 36.49 to 38.58%). The urea treatment decreased NDF (from 85.58 to 78.3%) and ADL (from 11.95 to 9.53%). The CP content was increased (from 3.01 to 15.02%) with increase in urea level from 0.0 to 5.0%.

The in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD) values were 3.5 to 7.5 and 7.5 to 8.8 units lower than in sacco DM digestibility (ISDMD) values for urea and sodium hydroxide treatments, respectively. The mean IVDMD and ISDMD of untreated bagasse were 26.49 and 34.12%, respectively, which increased to 54.46 and 63.19% after treatment with 5% NaOH. With increasing levels of sodium hydroxide the maximum improvement in IVDMD and ISDMD was 29 and 31% units, with corresponding improvements of 16 and 20 units with urea treatments, respectively suggesting 150 ml/100 g DM moisture level was the most appropriate. After 4% level of NaOH and urea the rate of improvement in ISDMD and IVDMD diminished.