Rumen fermentation kinetics and microbial biomass synthesis of some leguminous fodder crops by in vitro gas production technique

Abstract

The samples of leguminous annual fodder crops i.e Horsegram, Field bean, Cluster bean and Cowpea obtained after first cut were subjected for chemical analysis, fibre fractions and evaluated for rumen in vitro gas production kinetics and microbial biomass synthesis. The in vitro gas production was gradual and maximum in Horsegram than the other fodder crops. As the gas production increased, ME values also increased. Thet1/2 (h) observed for Horsegram was 11.66 which was higher than that of Field bean, Cluster bean (8.20, 8.58) and Cowpea (7.57). As t1/2 (h) value increased, gas production at t1/2 (h) also increased. The rate of gas production (k, h-1) in Cowpea was 9.2 per cent per hour (0.092) followed by Field bean and Cluster bean (8.1 and 8.5 per cent per hour) and Horsegram (5.9 per cent per hour) The true digestible organic matter (TDOM) of Horsegram was significantly (P