Enzymatic hydrolysis of forage and straw pretreated with ammonia

Three forages (alfalfa, timothy, reed canary grass) and two cereal residues (barley straw, corn stover) were chopped at 3 to 5 mm length, pretreated w ith ammonia, and hydrolyzed in the presence of a commercial enzyme mixture. Between 42 and 51% of total biomass was solubilized. The liquid hydrolyzat e contained soluble sugars composed on average of 49% glucose, 25% xylose, and 26% other sugars. The non-hydrolyzed residue had a low fibre content, i ndicating a potentially good feed energy value, but its protein value was l ow because a high proportion of nitrogen was bound to the fibre.