SUSHIL KUMAR*, ZILE SINGH SIHAG AND SAJJAN SIHAG
Department of Animal Nutrition, LUVAS, Hisar-125004 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : chahar53@gmail.com)
(Received : 10 December 2021; Accepted : 28 December 2021)
SUMMARY
A study was conducted to assess the chemical composition of different cultivars of rice and to evaluate the effect of urea or urea plus molasses treatment on their nutrient profile. Samples of eight cultivars of rice viz. CSR-30, HB-2, Basmati-370, HKR-47, HKR-127, PB-1121, PB-1509 and Taraori, were collected from different parts of Haryana state and treated with 3.5% urea or 3.5% urea plus 3.5% molasses solutions. Chemical analysis of the samples revealed that CSR-30 had slightly higher CP, NFE and OM as compared to other cultivars.Treatment with urea alone or in combination with molasses increased the crude protein content of the rice straw of all cultivar considerably but, the percentage of CP, NFE, OM, IVDMD and IVOMD was reported to be highest in urea or urea plus molasses treated CSR-30. In-vitro study revealed that a total mixed ration containing treated rice straw, green fodder and concentrate mixture in the ratio of 35:30:35 had significantly (p<0.05) higher digestibility.Thus, treatment of rice straw either with urea alone or urea plus molasses combination improves the nutritive values of rice straw considerably.
Key words:Rice straw, urea-molasses treatments, CP, NFE, OM, IVDMD and IVOMD