RUMINAL DEGRADATION OF FIBROUS COMPONENTS OF VARIOUS FEEDS IN CATTLE AND BUFFALO

The relative disappearances and rates of degradation of DM, NDF and AD F for 10 nutritively variable feeds (2 to 16% CP) were determined by s imultaneously suspending the substrate in the rumen of cattle and buff aloes. The overall average effective degradability did not differ betw een these ruminant species. However, some feed fibrous components exhi bited differential disappearances due to cattle and buffaloes. The deg radation of NDF and ADF in wheat straw-groundnut-cake besides NDF from oat hay exceeded in buffaloes than in cattle, while the enhanced degr adation of NDF fraction from wheat straw, paddy straw, pearlmillet sto ver and berseem hay by cattle relative to buffaloes conformed to their dry matter degradabilities. The in sacco effective degradability and the rates of degradation of test substrates appeared to be influenced by the composition of feed dry matter. The dry matter fractional disap pearance rate (hr(-)1) varied from 0.0053 to 0.0473 in cattle and 0.01 50 to 0.0747 in buffaloes. The highest DM degradation rate in berseem hay was about 2-fold in buffaloes vis-a-vis cattle. The NDF degradatio n rate in cattle and buffaloes ranged from 0.0068 to 0.0378/hr and 0.0 108 to 0.491/hr respectively. Fractional degradation rate (hr(-1)) of ADI: fell between 0.0063 and 0.0461 in cattle and 0.0057 and 0.0461 in buffaloes. The average degradation rate for DM (0.0245 vs 0.0373/hr), NDF (0.0224 vs 0.0317/hr) and ADF (0.0233 vs 0.0275/hr) for the two r espective ruminant species may indicate a slightly better degradation in buffaloes relative to cattle. Such phenomenal variation may sequent ially govern the rumen fill of these ruminant species. further, data i nferred that the rate of degradation of NDF and ADF tended to be close r to those of dry matter.