Department of Animal Nutrition, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, India
*Corresponding author: J Kaur; E-mail: sachdeva_jasmine@rediffmail.com
Online Published on 13 July, 2023.
The present study was conducted to assess the chemical composition and in vitro nutritional worth of concentrate mixtures containing graded levels of malt sprouts. Malt sprouts in the concentrate feed was included at 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% levels to make five isonitrogenous concentrate mixtures. Crude protein content of concentrate mixtures varied from 19.61% to 20.32%. Ether extract content in concentrate mixtures varied from 5.33% to 5.96%. No significant difference was observed in truly degraded substrate, partitioning factor, OM digestibility, NDF digestibility, DM digestibility and ammoniacal nitrogen among the concentrate mixtures tested. However, the net gas production, short chain fatty acids and metabolizable energy were lower (P<0.05) in concentrate mixture 5 (containing 40% malt sprouts) than other concentrates evaluated. It was concluded that malt sprouts could be could be incorporated upto 30% in the concentrate mixture of ruminants without affecting nutrient digestibility, ME availability and propionate production.
• The level of malt sprouts had no adverse effect on nutrient digestibility of concentrates evaluated.
• The net gas production, short chain fatty acids and metabolizable energy were lower (P<0.05) in conc 5 containing 40% malt sprouts.
In vitro evaluation, Malt sprouts, Volatile fatty acids
