Indian Journal of Animal Nutrition

Straw grain ratio (S/G ratio) of paddy cultivars available across the country in different states was determined. Variation in straw quality was also estimated. Sampling locations were from farmers field spread over 9 major paddy producing states viz., Bihar, Chhatishgarh, Gujrat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and West Bengal. A significant variation (P<0.001) in straw to grain ratio was recorded among the paddy cultivars grown by the farmers in different states. Variability(P<0.05) within cultivar was also observed among cultivars grown under different agro-climatic regions and agronomical practices. Similarly, significant variations (P<0.01) quality attributes viz., CP, NDF, ADF, hemicelluloses, cellulose and lignin content was recorded among the paddy cultivars. Among the various chemical constituents, the lignin content varied greatly (126%) followed by CP(76.15%), hemicelluloses(72.34%), cellulose (37.67%), ADF (25.39%), and NDF (15.48%). The DM degradability of straw from different paddy cultivars ranged from 35 to 64.4%, whereas, NDF digestibility varied from 63.52 to 80.74%. NBDMD was negatively correlated with ADF and lignin content of straw. It can be concluded that the variability in nutritional parameters among varieties/cultivars need to be exploited by plant breeders, particularly in paddy growing areas where paddy straw is a major roughage source for ruminant diet.