in vitro Rumen Fermentation of Alfalfa Hay. Carbon Dioxide, Methane, VFA and Heat Production

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Abstract
The Armsby Respiration Calorimeter was modified to function as an incubator-calorimeter at 39 C and used to determine the fermentation products (heat, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen) of alfalfa hay by rumen microorganisms in vitro. The 36 liter inoculum for the 360 liter in vitro fermentation was obtained by “building-up” the inoculum from 0.5 liter rumen fluid to 36 liters rumen fermentation medium in two successive 24-hr. in vitro fermentations of 5 and 40 liter, respectively. In Experiments 2 and 3, 74.2% of the carbon in the substrate fermented was converted to volatile fatty acids, 20.2% to carbon dioxide and 5.6% to methane. In Experiment 3, the mean molar ratio of carbon dioxide to methane was 3.5 to 1, but the ratio varied from 6.5 to 1 to 2.3 to 1. A measurable quantity of hydrogen was formed during each fermentation period. Since, in Experiment 3, approximately two-thirds of the hydrogen was formed in the first 2 hr., it was postulated that hydrogen formation was associated primarily with the initial degradation of readily available carbohydrates or protein. Copyright © 1970. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1970 by American Society of Animal Science

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