Use of selected tropical feeds and additives as modulators of rumen fermentation and methanogenesis in ruminants
Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The main objective of this work was to identify potential rumen modulators or feed \nadditives that improve fibre digestion while reducing enteric methane production from \ntropical feeds. The research was conducted in the Department of Animal and Wildlife \nSciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa. To accomplish this, feed additives and feeding \ntechnologies that were tested elsewhere to reduce methane in various ruminant production \nsystems were reviewed in Chapter one. In Chapter two, the in vitro fermentability and \nmethane production of commonly used tropical perennial grasses were studied. In Chapter \nthree, 19 tropical browses collected from Pretoria were studied for their potential \nfermentation and methane production under in vitro conditions. In Chapter four, three types of tannin-containing browse foliage that were collected from the Kalahari Desert in South \nAfrica were used to replace Medicago sativa hay in a total mixed ration fed to Merino rams \nin order to investigate their effect on rumen fermentation and enteric methane production. In \nChapter five, cellulase and xylanase fibrolytic enzymes were studied for their feed \nfermentation potential and methane production at seven dose rates. In Chapter six, the effects \nof fibrolytic enzymes, nitrate and enzyme-nitrate mixture were evaluated by measuring \nrumen fermentation and enteric methane production in Merino rams. Finally, general \nconclusions, recommendations and critical evaluation based on this experimental work were \npresented in Chapter seven.
Author: B.S. Gemeda
Language: English
Subfield: Animal Science and Zoology
Domain: Life Sciences
SDGs: Zero hunger, Climate action
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2203542513