Composition and Digestion of Ammoniated Tall Fescue (Festuca Arundinacea Schreb.) Hay

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Abstract
Ammoniation of tall fescue hay (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) at 30 g/kg hay increased dry matter digestion from 39.4 to 57.4%. Hemi-cellulose and cellulose digestion coefficients were increased from 57.4 to 92.0% and from 50.0 to 71.6%, respectively. Ammoniation decreased the concentration of hemicellulose in the hay by 5.2 percentage units and increased the total N from 1.27 to 2.67%. Ammoniation increased (P<.05) ad libitum hay consumption by 32% when fed to lambs and by 52% when fed to cattle. Ammonia concentration in the rumen of animals consuming ammoniated hay did not exceed 12 mg/100 ml rumen fluid. Infrared spectral characteristics of the treated and untreated hays indicated that ammoniation significantly reduced ester bond absorb-ance and increased amide bond absorbance in the fiber fraction of the hay. These changes in infrared absorbance properties presumably resulted from the breaking of ester bonds through ammonolysis. The breaking of ester bonds between lignin and structural carbohydrates may have been primarily responsible for the greater fiber digestibility of the ammoniated hay. Copyright © 1982. American Society of Animal Science. Copyright 1982 by American Society of Animal Science. Printed in USA. All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or whole probihited.

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