Authors : M. Mojtahedi and M. Danesh Mesgaran
Abstract: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the chemical composition and in situ ruminal degradability of different Sugar Beet Pulp (SBP) sources produced in North-East Iran. Chemical composition of the samples including Crude Protein (CP), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), Ether Extract (EE) and total ash were determined. In situ ruminal degradability parameters of DM and NDF were determined using four ruminally fistulated Holstein steers. Significant differences were found among various SBP samples for DM, CP, NDF, ADF and ash contents and fiber compounds (NDF and ADF) were the most variable components. Content of NDF varied from 23.03-48.73% with a mean of 34.5% and Standard Deviation (SD) of 7.1%. ADF content ranged from 11.43-24.26% with an average of 17.3%. In addition, considerable variation was observed in degradation parameters including rapidly degradable fraction (a), slowly degradable fraction (b), fractional degradation rate (c), Potential Degradability (PD) and the Effective Degradability (ED) of DM and NDF. The a-fraction of DM varied markedly from 0.012-0.584 with a mean of 0.401 (±0.158). Moreover, c-value of NDF ranged from 0.042-0.074 h-1 with average of 0.054. It was concluded that the chemical composition and ruminal degradation parameters of SBP differs considerably among various SBP sources.
M. Mojtahedi and M. Danesh Mesgaran, 2009. Variability in the Chemical Composition and in situ Ruminal Degradability of Sugar Beet Pulp Produced in North-East Iran. Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 4: 1262-1266.