Fiber degradability of sugar cane bagasse treated by alkaline solutions, through the “in situ” nylon bag technique

Abstract

Sugar cane bagasse was treated by immersion in one of these solutions: A) NaOH 2% volume/weigth; B) wood ash solution 30% volume/weight and C) water alone. Treated bagasse made up 60% of dry matter ration, and the remaining 40% constituted of concentrate (corn, full fat soybean and cotton meal). Six fistulated steers in a change-over design 3x3 were used, for evaluation of fiber degradability in the rumen, through the “in situ” nylon bag technique. Dry matter degradability at 48h incubation time was: A = 75.1%; B = 34.2% and C = 24.2%; NDF degradability of NaOH
treated bagasse (A) was higher than in B or C treatments; degradability of B was higher than in C at 72h and 96h of incubation time. NDF degradability at 48 hour incubation time showed the following results: A = 74.0%; B = 41.6% and C = 35.7%. In conclusion, alkaline (NaOH and wood ash) treated sugar cane bagasse improves ruminal degradability, and NaOH is better than wood ash.