ABSTRACT
Rice straw, a by-product of the rice production is mainly used as a source of feed for ruminant livestock is the major forage in Nigeria. It is rich in polysaccharides and has a high lignin and silica content, limiting voluntary intake and reducing degradability by rumen microbes. By rice straw treatment, its quality and digestibility can be improved and enhanced. Biological methods by using white rot fungi is one of the viable alternatives to improve the nutritional value of rice straw, palm oil sludge (POS) and their mixture, biological method is environmental friendly and potentially economical. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of biodegradation period on the chemical composition and in vitro fermentation of rice straw, POS and their mixture.
The 100%R.S + 0%POS, 85%R.S + 15%POS and 0%RS + 100%POS were inoculated using Pleurotus tuber-regium for a period of 6 weeks, where sampling was done at 0, 2, 4, 6 weeks for their chemical composition and in vitro gas fermentation for 24 hours to check the rate of microbial degradation and methane gas production.
The result showed that the degraded rice straw and POS contained improved nutrient quality as well as reduced cell wall components.
