Nutritive Value and Digestion Kinetics of Manure Ensiled Wheat Straw

Crop residues are receiving considerable attention due to scarcity of green fodder. Efficient utilization of these crop residues by ruminants is hardly possible because these are high in fiber and low in protein. Thus, effective and economical source of energy and nitrogen are needed to supplement low quality roughage for ruminants. Oil seed meals and cereal grains are effective supplements, but are expensive to afford for a low-medium level farmer. Moreover, there is very limited scope for increasing the area under fodder cultivation. Therefore, animal excreta or dung or manure have been extensively investigated for their nutritional value. Therefore, much emphasis is being given to the utilization of agro-industrial wastes and animal excreta in the rations of the ruminants. The use of animal excreta is not only a cheap source of protein but also the disposal and pollution of farmers can be solved in peri-urban area. The present research has been planned to examine the influence of cattle manure treated wheat straw, ensiled with urea and crushed corn grains on its chemical composition and in situ digestion kinetics.