COMPOSITION AND DIGESTIBILITY OF CELL WALL COMPONENTS IN CEREAL STRAWS AFTER TREATMENT WITH ANHYDROUS AMMONIA

Abstract

Three varieties each of oat, barley and wheat straw were treated with anhydrous ammonia (3.5% wt/wt). A concentrate and straw were each fed to steers at 1% of body weight for the measurement of apparent digestibility. Hemicellulose and lignin contents tended to be lower, but cellulose was not affected by ammonia treatment. Pooled data show that ammoniation increased (P < 0.001) the digestibility of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and cellulose in the diets by 5.8, 4.7 and 5.8 percentage units, respectively. Improvements were largest for wheat straw diets averaging about 17%, and were similar for oat and barley straw diets at about 8%.