' Vol.65 Novembet, 1995 No.

11

Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews (Series B)

The Nutritional Value Of Cereal Straw For

Ruminants - A Review

D.I. Givens and Angela R. Moss

Feed Evaluation Unit, ADAS Dairy Research Centre, Alcester Road,
Stratford upon Avon CV37 9RQ, UK.

CONTEI{TS
ABSTRACT .....................793 r/oLllNTARy INTAKE OF STRA}'!' ....................... 80-1
TNTRODUCTION ............... .................794 Effect oÍ digestibilitv/degradabilir-v ..................... 803
Quantities oÍ straw available ...........794 Phvsical form..........-.. .... 803
STRUCTUREAND COMPOSITION OFSTR{W .. 794 Chemical treatment ...... 8C3
Straw fractions .............. ......................794 Opnortunit.v for selection .................. 803
Chemical composition ......................,795 Effect of dietarv supplements ................................ 804
DIGESTIONAND RUMEN FERMEI.ITATTON ..... 795 PREDICTION OF E)iERGY 1ALUE AND
Rumen ügestion.... .......795 voLLôi-rARy INTAKE .................. 804
Degradation oÍ the cell walls by Prediction of digestibiiitv ....................................... E04
microorganisms .............. ......--.......795 Prediction oÍ voluntarv intake an<i animai
Optimisation of cell wall degradation ..-......... ..... 797 performance....................." .............804
Effect of other dietary ingredients on stralv PR.OTEIN !ALI-]E OF STRAW ................................. 80s
digestion .:.................... ................... 798 Effect oÍ species/variety........................................... 8C5
ENERGYVALUE OFSTRAlry ........... 8OO Effect of processing/treaknent ......... 805
Effect of cereal species ....................... 800 Effect of botanical fractions .............. 80ó
Effect of cereal varie§ ....................... 800 Effect of agronomic/harvesting practice...... ........ 807
Effect of botanical fractions .............. 801 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR R.ESEAR.CH ........... 8OJ
Effect of agronomic and hanesting practice ....... 801 ACKNOWLEDGETIIEIiTS .................. 8C7
Effect of processing and treatment........................ 801 REFERENCES ................ ..................... 8C?

ABSTRACT
ln 1994 there have been some 11 x 106 t of straw available from cereal. production in
England and Wãies. Since the ban on straw burmng rn 1993 there appearà to have been
an increase in the proportron of straw baied and thereÍore potenli.aliv' avaiiable Íor
feeding. This review discusses straw availabillity, anatomical structure, chemicai
composition, drgesüon and the predicn on oÍ nutriüonal vaLue in the iaboratorv. Methods
of upgrading the nukirive vaiue of straw are also covered. The currently available
data on the digestibüT artd energy value of straw are examined together ,*'j.th the
influence oÍ these and other factors on voluntary intake. OÍ particular note is the recent
findrng that sheep and goats are able to select the parts oÍ the straw of highest nutritional
quality and that permitting sheep to reject large amounts (i.e. >50%) of the offered
straw can lead to substanüal increases in daily intakes of drv matter and digestible
organic matter. The magmtude of the effect appears to be simi.lar to upgradrn! stra.w'
with ammoni.a. The important inÍluence oÍ the propôrtrons oÍ the difieient bolanical
(e.g. Ieaves, stêms) on the energv and protern vaiue is highlighted as is the
fractiolljnÍormation
. lack oÍ on the efÍects of factors such as geographical-iocãtion, ferti.liser
treatrnent and fungal disease.
.,u4 Nufntion Abstracts and Reviews (Series B) l99S Vol.65 No. 1i

INTRODUCTION Overall, about 70% of straw produced was baled and

removed from the field, although this figure rose to
Straw comprises the stem with or without leaves of
approximately X)o/" f.or all cereals other than wheat. MAFF
members of the Gramineae Íamily, from which the seed (1995) has also estimated the trends in straw disposal and
head has been rernoved. The name straw is usualiy given
Figure 1 shows these for all cereais covering the years
to the six major slender-stemmed cereal.s nameiy, wheat,
19i9-1994. Foliowing the banning of straw Éurning from
barley, oats, triticale, rye and rice. l,tfhilst from the botanical
1993 there appears to have been ã reciuction in the
viewpoint there is no clear distinction between this group proportion of straw being incorporated into the soil and an
and many other members of the Gramineae family, tlus
increase in that baled.
review will Goncentrate on the nutntional aspects of straws
from the main cereal crops grown in the United Krngdom. ln simple metabolisable energy (ME) eqüvalents, the total
Staniforth (1992) has reviewed the use of straw as a feed straw availabie for feeding in England ánd Wales (g.0 x 1üt)
for non-ruminants together with other non-nutntional is approximately equivalent to 4.ô x 1St of compound feed.
uses. Some of the non-nutritional r.§es examined included ln practice howwer, much of the baled skaw is not fed, with
the use of straw for matting and mulch to prevent soil considerable amounts berng used for bedding.
erosion, controliing weeds in forests and cardboard
manuÍacture.
STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF
Quantities of straw available STRAW
The quantity of cereal straw potentially available for Straw consists mainly of highly lignified cell wail material
feeding in the UK is large. Estrmates by MAFF (1995) of with very low concenkahons of pioteins and storage
the areas of the different cereals grown in 1994 in carbohydrates. Straw is, howeveç not a homogenous
England and Wales were 1699, 573,250 and 96 x 103 ha materiai and consists of varving amounts of different plant
for wheat, winter barley, spring barlev and oats, parts.
respectively. These areas. together with the straw vields
per hectare given by Larkin (1984), have been used to Straw fractions
calculate estimates of the weitht oÍ straw avaiiabie from A review of the various anatomical frachon-s of straws has
Engiand and Wales in 1994 (Table 1). Tabie 1 also gives bee-n given by Theander and Àman (1984), and Juniper
estimates of quantities of straw baled and removed and (1991) has compared the structure of straw to engineered
straw pioughed in or cuitivated based on estimates bv structures. The yieids of the different anatomrcal hactions
MAFF (i995). of straw have been neported bv several workers and some
of these data arc presànted in Table 2. Table 2 indicates
some vanation beiween observahons within the same
Teblt 1. Esümates of straw available rn England and Wales in 1994 cereal specres. Shand et ai. (1988) have also shown
vanation between varieties of wheat harlested from
Quantrtv of straw (x 1S t) expenmental olots.
Cercd
Some of the data from Shand et al. (1988) are summarised
Total Baled Ploughed in
in Table 3. Of paficular note is the range in the propoÉion
or anitiyated of leaves in wheat varieties {27&W g/kg). Gotó et ai.
Wheât 8.08 < 1',) )aa (1991) have presenteci simrlar data for varieties of bariey
mnter barley ,?n ,1? a.ú strah'; these are aiso shown in Table 3.
Spring oarley 0.61 0.51
^.n
Oats 0.29 0.21 0.08 Teble 2. Yields of different botanical Íractions of cereal straws.
Total 11.28 2 al
Yield of frachon (g/kg DMl
Cereal Refererrce
lntemode Node Leaf
80 Barley 5E5 66 349 Àman and Nordkvist (19E3)
Spring wheat 576 44 380 Müler (1%O)
70 Winter wheat ilc 4E 410 Müller (1960)
l^frntet wheat 1aa Á? ,^i Á,man and NoÍdkvrst (19E3)
O,ats 528 36 436 Müller (1960)
60

Table 3. Proporhons of botanical hachons from different varieties

r50
ô of wheat and bariey straws (after Shand et al., 1988; Goto et
a a\.,1997).

§o Botanical frachon (g/kg fresh weight)

o Varie§
836
Leaf blade + lnternodes Nodes Chaff
sheath
20
Wheat straws:
Bnmstone 278 493 76 153
10 Stetson 304 4E3 51 162
Longbow 331 468 -\4 1t7
Brock %6 497 60 63

19E8 19E9 1990 1991 992 109.1

Barlev straws:
Colden Promise
*
1 J/C 676
Kiaxon 400 600
Figure 1. Trends irl stíaw disposd (aÍter MAFF, 1995). Doublet 470 526
I
The Nutrittonal Value Of Cereal Strara For Ruminants - A Reoieu
Whilst there can be considerable variabili§ both between
and withrn species, the data availabie suggest that barley
and oat straws are likely to have gleater propoÉlons of leaf
than wheat straw. The proportron of leaf is of consÍderable
rmportance since the digestibilities of the leaves rn wheat,
bariev and oat sfraws are considerablv higher than stems
(Shand et a|.,7988; see also sectron EfÍect of botanical
Íractions of straw on energ:v value). It rs worth recording
that various other factors such as stubble }ength can
influence the proporhon of leaf.
Chemical composition
A comprehensive anaivsis of the major fractions of 51
barlev, 62 wheat and 5 oat straws harvested in England
and. Wales was reported bv Givens eÍ al. (i989). Some of
these data are reproduceci in Tâble 4. Cell walls measured
as neutral detergent fibre (NDF) occupied bv far the iargesi
fraction and the values in Table 4 are sirnilar to those
reported earlier by lackson {1977) and Pearce eÍ al ,1979).
Apart from the structurai carbohvdrates, Iignin rs a maioi
ccn.ponent of straw. Lignin encrusts the cell waiis anC
develops ester covalent bonds with herniceiluloses This
senouslv hmrts the degraCahon of tre cell 'arails tn the
rumen. In this regard, it is noteworlil' til.at tne
.oncentratlon of ligrnin in the straw dcnes ro: seen. to be
cioselv rejated to the availabiiiry of the ceil wall ic lumen
mjcroorganrsms (Chesson, 1988). DegraCailon of the ceil
walls is much more deterrnined bv the phvsicechenrcal
associations between the components of the ceil wali
(Cnesson, 1988; Chesson anC Murrson, i989). In particular,
irgntn erevents ciose contac: between the ceii waiis anC the
rur..en mcroorganisms. For further cetarls oÍ the ltgnin-
ceii wail cornpiexes and now these influe:rce the
cieg:adatron bv rurnen m:crobes, refer tc ihe exien*stve
:eviews of Chesson (i988) and Grenei and Besle (199i).
Because of the rather limiteci bioio$cal ieievance of
cne::ricai anaivsis of s|ra*,s, substaniial develoon:e:rts have
taken place in ph.vsicai iechniques for studvrng ceii wail
structures. These have rnciucied scanfllng electron
nucroscopv (Akrn eÍ ai.,',97 3';, X- ra'; auto-Íluorescence
(Wiilemse, 1981) and more iecentiv nuclear magneiic
resonance (Himmelsbach. 1989,r anC multrole intenai
:e8ectance infrared spedrosccDy (iiusseil àt rt., tlaS;.
Detaiis anci recent findrngs oÍ some of :hese rnethocis have
.reex lresentec bv Chesson anc 3:sior '1989:.
DIGESTION AND R.UME}{
FERMENTATIO}i
Rumen digestion
The maioritv oí feed rngested bv herbivorous mammals is
high in structurai carbohvdrates (pnncical componenrs of
the ceil walis). These carbohydrates are nnainlv cellulose
and hemicellulose. No herbrvorous mammals have the
abil.ity to digest these polvsacchandes, but manv
microorganisms sl'nthesise enz'/me cor..',p iexes capable of
Table {. Chemicai comDosition oí cereal straws (g/kg DM or
stated) (aÍter Clvens et aJ., i989)
Component Wheat straws Bariev straws Oat straws
Drv matter (6/kg fresh) 868 865
Crrde protein
40 43
Total ash
72 58
\eutral detengent fibre (NDF)
806 809
Hemicellulose J14 296
Ceiiulose À11
400
Lignin 99 98
Water soluble caôohvdrates
L2 17
Gmss energr'(Ml/kg DM) 18.1 1E.4
795
degtading thern. Rumrnants have evolved a digestive
svstem whereby they can uhhse cell wall compãnents by
means of a symblotic association with mrcroorganisms rn
the rumen capable of digesting these poivsaccÀarides.
The rumen can be likened to a highlv efficient semi_
continuous fermentation apparatüs,'but differs from the
man-made fermentatlon equipment in several wavs. The
inner epitheliai wail of the rumen is semi-permeable and
selectivelv transports small molecules to and from the
anirnal's bloodstream. Neural responses to specific
strmuli exist, such as activation oÍ phvsiolosical
mechanisms for eructatron and activaiion oicontractions
to mix and move rumen contents. The biological features
of the rumen provide mechanisms for Íermeitation of
s.oiid substrates, product removal, maintenance of pH and
disposai of fermentatron.gases. Manv aspects of rumen
ecoiogy anci phvsioiogv have been reviewed by
Czerkawskr (1986)
The rumen is a warm (39oC) anaerobic, chemicaliv
reciucing (oxidairon-reduction potential about -35b mV)
environmeni rich rn organrc matter. The pH of the rumen
contents rs approxlmateiv 6.5. This rs heid relatively
:onstan-i bl, the buffering action of the large amount of
secreted sairva, which is high in sociium and potassrum
cícarbonate anci urea, bv absorpiion through ih" ,r*en
',taii intc the bloodstream of volatile fattv ãcids iVFA) anC
ov ammonra (NH,; orocuceci dunng feríentation.
Temperature, oxidatron-reduction potential anC DH are
constraints on the tvpes of microoiganisrr'.s that àan exist in
the r.lmen. Despite these constrarnts, the rumen ccntalns a
verv varied, cornplex and dense popuiatron of
rric:oorgan:srns. These :r,av be spiit intc three marn
gioups: bactena (j x lCr::o i x iCIlr,,i), protozoa (ciiiates i
x 19 to 1x l,)/rnl; flageilates I x 1$. to i x 1Os/mi) and
iunBr.
Cereal stra'ws iiffer in t.wo rmportant respects frorn the
vast majorrtr.'of other piant miteriais offered as íeed to
rurmnant anrmais: (1)The carbohvdrates present in straw
ae íound oni'i in the siruciural form, w:th the vrrtual
absence of water solubie carbohvdrates and starch. (2)
Straw rs not the primary produci and its harvest is dlctated
bv the rnaturation of the grarn. As a con_sequence, the
pfcrcgss of 1ígnification wnich accompanres the maturation
cf all pianis rs consicierabi./ rnore advanced in straw. than
in other íorage pla:rts. !:rtualiy all the ceiis within cereal
straws are dead, devord of the cell contents which adC to
the nutritronai value of other Íorage ola:.lis, and aie
uniformiv anC extensivei.r lgnified. Thus, the dieestion cf
straw by the rumen m:croorganisms is vrrtually
svrlonvmous with the drgestion of straw cell wails
, (Chesson and Zrskov, 1989).
Rumen ferrnentation of hgno-cellulosic (fibre-rich) feeds
occurs in a complex svstem that is influenced by many
factors. Some of the more important constraint; limiting
fibre digestion are as foilows:
1. The phvsical and chemrcal nature of the fibre.
2. The rate of rumrnal digestion.
as
3. The naturea.nd population densities of the predcmrnant
species of fibre digestrng m:croorganrsms as affected by
the prevaiiing ruminal conditions-.
The phvsicai and chemical nature of forages can present a
E32
barrier to their complete digestion in the rumen. The
40
associatron of Iignin with polysaccharide constituents of
67
celi walls Iirnits micmbial digestion witn lignin protecting
about 1.4 times its own mass of cell wall caibohv.drates "
732
(Vân Soest. 1981).
93 Degradation of the cell walls by microorganisms
1E. i Microorganisms in the liquid environment of the rumen, in
order to ftnd the nutnents thev requrre and to avoid being
, .76
carried out of the rumen bv the digestive flow, need to
adhere to partrculate matter. The microorganisms that use
celi wall polvsaccharides as their main energ:v source exisi
in close reiatron with the food partlcles that erter the
rumen and are thus able to remain in the rurnen as long as
do the iatter. The ability oÍ the cellulolvtic Ínrcroorganslrrs
to become attached to Plant fibre is important and has been
weil documented. Early studies of ruminal contents bv
light rnicroscopy showld bacteria within the lacunae (i.e.
zones of digestion) suggesting that adherence might be
important rn plant fibre degradation (Baker and Martin,
1938). Apart from these general descnpttve studies, littie is
known of the mechanisms for attachment. The use of
eiectron microscopy has demonstrated that coccoid
bactena are the most coÍnmon adherents to Plant fibre and
that cell wall tvpe or structure has an irr'portant influence
on cilgestion rate (Akin, 1980; Akrn et ai.,1.974).
Adhesion
Bacteria, protozoa and fungi colonise nearlv all the plant
paiticles that enter the rumen, with the exception of intact
Diant matter, i.e. protected bv the epider::"is. The main
coionisation routes are lesions in the epidermrs or through
leaf stornata (Cheng et a\.,1981). Demet'er (L981)reoortec
ihat plant trssue particles entenng the rumen -1.5are coiontsed
bv 'oacterra 'within 5 min, bv protozoa u'ltni:. min anC
o'"' fungal soorangia and rhrzoicis within 2 h..
It has been shown with several species of ruminai bacteria
ihat non-cellulolvtic or weakiv ce1lulo1r'trc bacteria adhere
to celluiose particles to a iesser extent than the activeh'
celluloirtic itrarns (Minato and Suio, 197E). The marn
ceiiuiolvtic bactena species that atiach to particies are
F:'orcoacler sucanogenes (a granr-negative roo), and
Lun:rrocccc:rs alàus and F,. iaz;eiactens (gÍam-cosrhve cccci).
The Rlrninococars species appear to be looseiv associateC
with cell walls, whlie F. succinogenes exr..ibits a tight
aci:resion, :',ouiCrng rtself to th.e surface of the ceii wail
being orgesied (Forsberg et. a1,.,1981.; Cheng e! al., 19E1).
Rurne:l prctozoa and fungi also cclonise olant fragrnents
ane degrace them to difÍering extents íAkrr, i9E6). Tne
rn.echamsrr of atiachrnent of these organis;: s to olant
mateial is liitle understood. Anaerobic fungal zoospores
atiacr Dreíerenhallv to the stomata and to ciamaged areas
of particles from where soiubie sugars drfÍuse, causing a
chen,otaxlc response fron the ,oa.ioot".. Zcospores swln".
to ac:eptable sites for coionrsatron, encvst and rnvaCe the
rrssue via ihaiius format:on and rhrzoros (Bauchoc, 1981).
i: ls tre iignrfied tissues that are prefe:er.tiailv cclonised bv
;he :..:men f..:ng. It appears likei''r that run:en furgi can
ciigest ceilulose and hemicelluloses even w:\en thev are
orãsent in iignified celi walls (e.g. as in wheat straw).
However, th.ere is no evicience that thev can ciigest Iignin
rtseif (Grenet and Barry 1988).
The mechanism of attachment of different n:men
mrcroorgamsms to cellulcse and other cornplex fibrous
rr,aterrals may invoive specific binciing bv ceii surface.
assocrated enzvmes or possibiv non-speciÍic ronrc interaction
(Forsirerg, i986). Bacterial attachment has received most
stuciv and it has been shor+'n that adhesrcn of r\,. aicus was
q..arkediv decreaseeC at pH beio*' 5.0, but was unchanged
'oetween pl{ 5.5 and 8.0 (Morris, 1988). Soluble cellulose
derivativàs (carboxvmethvicellulose ani methvlceilulose)
are inhibrtorv toward adhesion (Rasmussen et al ., 1989';
Further research should be aimed at resolvrng the
mechanism underiving binding, since it appears to be of
c:ime irnportance rn the cirqestion of piant ceil walis
(Cheng et a|.,1981).
Enzymes orodlrced by the'rumen mrcroarqan:sms
Th.e marn ceiiulolvtic bacieria of the ru;r',.en produce
cellulases, L. cirri! lstrair ILA\{r e:cC.::es a celiu.ase
Nutntíon Abstracts and Reotews (series B) 7995 Vol.65 No. i]
active at pH 6.0-6.8, at a temperature of 45"C (Smith el al.,
1973). The celiulases produced by R. flaoefaciens have been
studied by Pettipher and Latham (1979a,b). Their ophrnum
aciivitv is at pH 6..1 to 6.6 and at a ternperature between 39
and 45"C. F. succinogenes has high hydrolvtic activitv
agatnst cellulose and prociuces large amounts of
endoglucanase and a-glucosidase (Groleau and Forsberg,
1981) which mav be intra- or extra-cellularly active. An
endoglucanase was isoiated by McGavin aíd Forsberg
(1987) with an optimum pH and temperature of 7.0 and
39"C respectivelv. The hemicellulolvtic activities of the
main fibrolvtic bacteria ha','e been Írsted bv Chesson and
Forsberg (1988).
The ciliate protozoa and rumen fungi also possess
celiuiases and hemicellulases (Chesson and Forsberg,
1988). The activitv of these enzvmes is lower in the ciiiate
protozoa than the celluloivtic bacteria. The ceilulolvtic
ànzvmes proouceci by rumen fungi are of a broad íange,
with high actrvitv {Wiiliarns and Orpin, 1987).
Pectolytic enzvmes, esterases and lyases are also produced
bv bacterra and protozoa, but not b'y anaerobic fung:
(Chesson anci Forsberg, 1988).
Mtcrobial inleractions in the ntmen
The nanv lnteractions between or within rumen microbiai
poouiations was recentiv revrewed bv Woiin and Miller
(1988). Of partrcular importance is the svnergism between
cellulolytrc and non-celluioivtic species. An effictent
oegradation of plant ceii wall can be achieveci onlv bv the
activitres of combrnations of populations: hvCrolytic,
fermentatrve and methanogentc.
Tne maioritv of non-cellulcivtic bacteria ln the rumen of
anrmais feC nrgh roughage áiets are in close assocÍaiion
with plant material anci u'rth the cellulolytic species. They
hvdro]'lse the non-structurai carbohvdrates, starch ancl
fructosans anci orotern anci rnav ferrnent cellulose
íragments, xvlose, cellobiose and pentose. They mav, as a
result, increase celi wall degadation bv disposing of
oroiucts such as pentose. and allevtate catabolic
reDressron. They also provide the cellulolvtic bacteria with
aminc acrds and growth factors (Durand, i989).
Interspecies iransfer cf hvdrogen to methanogens to keep a
iorv partial pressuÍe oÍ hl'drogen in the rumen is
parr.icuiariv rnrportant for the efÍicient metabolism oí manv
Lacterial specles. Such hvdrogen transfer aiso takes place
between methanogens anc popuiahons of protozoa anC
Íungi. Physical assoctatlors beFween entodiniomoçirs
(protozoa) anci methanogens have been observed
(Demever, 198i). The achvrtv of fungal enzymes is
enhanced ov co-cuiture wrth metharíogenribacteria (Akin,
1986).
Informatron of fungal-bacterial interactions and fungal-
protozoal interactions is very scarce and needs to be
clarified if the understanding of the role of rumen
microorganisms rn ceLl wail degradation is to be expanded
(Akin and Borneman, 199C).
An optirniseci digestron cÍ high straw dieis relies on the
righi balance between the microbial pooulations involved.
Supoiemeniatron with other tvDes of carbohydrate,
inaCequaie suppiv of certain nutlients and use of some
.
additives can result in proliferatron of organisms at the
expense oi celluiolvtrc sDecres.
Ltmitaliorrs to cell uall degrad,ation
lngested cell wali poivsacchandes are rareiv completelv
ciegradeci bv the microtlora in the rumen and srgnificant
amounts escape fermentation in the rumen and iarge
intestine, being voided rn the faeces. Piant tissues ale made
up cf a heterogenous oopulation of cells and ceil w.alls
rcsi rth::h a:e:eE:rceC :o d:::ei;rg ciegrees:v the rumen
I
The Nutnttonal Value Of Cereal Strow For Rtrmtranls - Á Reuteu'
microorganisms. The extent to which celi walis are
attacked ciepends upon factors, both externai and internal
to the plant cell wali.
External factors
Much oÍ the surface of plant particles entering the rumen
may be protected by epicuticular waxes and the cuhcle,
both of which prevent the rumen microflora from
attacking. The mrcroorganisms are dePendent on broken
edges of feed particles or naturallv occurrrng openrngs
such as the stomata or ienticels to provide access to suitable
substrates. IValls of the deeper lyrng cells remaln Drotecteci
from attack for ionger periods than those ceils forming the
more superficial lavers. Chesson et al. (1986) showed that
isolated mesophyll and epidermis celi wails preoared from
rvegrass leaf, when incubaied in the rumen of sheep,
ciegrade at exactly the same rate with comPlete ciigestion ln
8 h. However similar observations with intact ryegrass
ieaves showed the ieaf mesoPhYll to be extensivelv
digesteci, but the epidermrs was littie affected (Akn, 1988)
Even whe:e bacterra obtarn entn' into the cell ]umen,
degradation of the cell w'ali has been shown to be limiteC
bvlhe presence of a laver iining the trner surface of the
iigniÍied ceil r.r'ails. This iaver rtav reouire mechanical
disruption to ailor.,u' ciigestion bv adhe:ent bacteria to occu:
(Engels ar.C Brrce. l9S5'.
Internal factors
For intact ceil wa1ls. factors other than the fine structure oÍ
the oolvsaccharides affect degraCabilitu ln iignified tissues
hke cereai straw, these factors are relateC io the pr,enoiic
ccrnpounC content of tre cell wali. Staining of the llg:'.ified
tlssues bv histoiogicai methocis :onf:r::rs that ti'.e waijs
wirich are little degradec rn the rurr,.er. are verv irgnifiec
(Akrn, i989; Crenet and Barry 199L), while if the piants are
cieiigniÍ:eC, digestion cÍ :lre walis cf pieviouslv lrgrified
l:ssues :s :l:::oveC iC:esson, i98i).
I-ignified ce1] walls are probably not sufficientlv porous to
allow free diffusion of celluiolvtic erzvmes. As a resuit tne
rn-rcrobes can attack only the surface of the ceti walis. The
poiysaccharides accessibie to the microorganisms íi.e. those
not covered with ligrun) are eliminated from th.e surface of
the celi walls. Eventualiv a protective laver of ii5.',rn
remains on the surface and prevents anv furthe:
degradahon (Chesson ani Forsberg, i988).
The walis of the differeni tyDes of cells preseni rn siraw are
oÍ diíÍerent compositions (Gordon et d.,1983) anci are
degracieci at Cifferent rates (Chesson eÍ ai., 1986). Cereal
straw ceil walls are predomrnantlv made up of t:e more
resistant ihickeneci secondarv wa)ls with a high
hem:ce.:uiose content.
Optimisation of ceil wall degradation
In the previous section, it has been established that
drgestion in the rumen is dependent on the actrvrtv of ihe
microorganisms, which need energv (ATP), nitrogen
(ammonia, peptides anci amino acicis), minerals, and a
medrum rn *,hich the pH is wiihin the range 6-6.5. Poor
quaLi§' :oughages, such as cereal stralvs, have rr:sufficieni
N, sugar, starch and rmneral contents to salisfu mrcrobial
needs and therefore need to be supplied to optimise cell
wali degradation.
Supoly of nitrogen
Amount of nitrogen required
Most cellulolvtrc bacteria require ammonia (NH.) as N
source Íor iniorporatron into cell protern. Ammonia is
supplied bv deamrnation of feed and endogenous protei:r
amino acids or bv degradahon of dietary anci eniogenous
norl-Droiern l- íNPN: such as urea. Th.e amouni cí \
797
required can be related either to the concentration of NHI
rn the rurr,.en rnedium or to the potentiallv iegradabie
organrc matter.
The levels oí NH.-N for maximum microbial activitv range
from 50-280 mg N/litre. This wide ran51e is a result oí
different requirements for microbial grou'th and
fermentative actÍvitres, different pathwavs of NH.-N
rncorporation (Hespell, 19E4) and tvpe oí substrate. For
example, the minimum NH,-N concentration required to
maximrse the degradatron of barler, (125 mg/litre) r.r,as
greater than that for degradation of maize (6i mg/iitre)
(Odle and Schaefer, 1987). Satter and Slvter (197.1)
advocated a mrnimum value of 50mg NH.-Nrlrtre for
optimum mrcrobial growth.
Numerous determinatrons of the amount of N tncoroorated
into mrcrobes in relation to the oÍganlc matter apparentiv
ciigested in the rumen (OMDR) or the organic nratter
fermenteci (O\{F) have been carrreci out nr uli,o, wlth
for hrgh rc-.ug:rage dtets u,ere
varra'nle resuits. Values
reported rv Demever and Van Nevei (i986) to oe rvithin
the range 28-36 g Ni kg OivlDR. A proeortron of mrcrobial
requlrements for \ car t e suppliec bv \i recvclrng of
:nuco-trcteirs rn sai:i a, urea througn salrva anC diiíusror.
through. ti're rumen waii and oí kerairnized proteln ;n celis
slougrec frorr, the r';r:ren wa jl (Egan el ai., i9E6). Tre
ieveis of recvcled N are extremelv variable anci dependent
on manl' faciors. Durani (1989) reconmendeci a total N
requlrement approxlmatrng to 2b g N / kg organic matter
apoarenti','cirS;esteC rn ihe total drgestrve tract (OIlD).
lloweve:. contnbution oi recvclec \ mav reduce these
itgures lr' 10-4C"" cierending on stra!r' ireaIme.t.
Source cf ritiogen
Tradiiionallvl straw-based diets har.e been supllerr.ented wiin
urea in crCer to suppli, sufficient N for ophmum n-ucrcbial
slrrthesis. Demever (i98i) reporteci thai the çrcccrtion oí
n:n'len n';crcbial N whjcn ls cienved frcm NH.-\, :'nav'oe as
iow as 2!3ro and vaíes with dietan' proteLn content. w*ãiiace
(199i) suggested that aciding extra pre-fcr-meci aruno aciCs cr
incieed pe:tides or prcterr.-s to the Crer coulC stir.u.lale ihe
:r:,txed ::',:crcbial populaiicn, in crro.:r.stances wh.ere the
supplv of armno acrd N rs low. Thjs could be due to the fact
that cellulolvtic bacteia reqúre srnali arnounts cf arnrno acids
anci peohcies. as weli as branchec.i chain Íatt z acids rvhich a-
gro'Â t:1 facicrs and can be svnthesrsec f:'on", arr::.,o ac:ds. Tr.s
couici ce lhe case',vlti., straw diets 'whtcn have a lew
degraca:ie protern conteÍrt.
This nas 3een supported bl rx i,rc'o studies. ir'ÍcAilan a:ri
Smrth (1983) found rncreased celiuiose cirgestibiiitv in the
rumen x'lth ciiets based on untreated and atkaii tieated
barlev st:aw' when the suppiement was fish :neal
compared with urea. Further positrve Íesponses to protein
suppienentation have been observed anci reported on in
more detail bv Hveiplund (1989). It is suggested that the
combinaiion of urea and a smali proportion of slowiv
degradeC arotein to provide a stead./ supplv of peptides
and/or amino acids would favour celluloivtic activiiv in
straw-based diets.
Mtnerai, ard trace elemen! atppiy
The rrrle of mineral elements ln rumen microbe metabolism
has been emphasised in recent revlews (Durand and
Kawashima, 1980; Durand and Komrsarczuk, 1968). With
straw-based diets, an adequate supplv of the requircd
elements is of particular importance as mlneral content and,/
or availabiliW in straw can be ve:-v icw (Durand, 1989).
c,,l^L.,-
fire :nain function of sulphur is io s,,:pport the svnth.esis of
sulphur-amino acids, methionrne anci cvstine, needeC íor
the ela:cration oí r:r,.lc:o':ial Drcteta.. Vanv in ::l.c studlel,
' ,.
.
.(
r,a li.f -l
798
reviewed by Komisarczuk-Bonv and Durand (1991) have
shown the positrve effects of a S supolementahon on the
ruminal degradalion of cell wali conshtuents. ln atro,
Stevani and DumnC (1989) shor.r'ed that S suppiementahon
significantiv rncreased the degradaticn of cellulose and
hemicellulose fractions oÍ a treated straw. These resuits
ernphasrse that, for lignocellulose subskates, more S is
needed to optimjse the degradative processes. An adequate
S supplv ophmlses celluiose degradation by a specific
strmulation of the cellulolvtlc bacteria (Slvter et a/., 1986) and
of the achvitv of ciLiate protozoa (Spears el al., 1985). R'.rmen
fungi have also been shown to be positir.eiy influenced bv S
(Akrn and W'indham, 1988). Durand (1989irecommendeá
total requirements for available S to be 1.8 g/kg OMD. In
straws, S avaiiabilitv is very low and r.r'ould not exceed 307o.
With discontinuous' feedng, siow-release S compounds such
as elemental S or methiorune, whjch mrnimise sulphide loss
from the rumen, ought to be usd tn preference to fast-
release compounds such as suiphate.
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is a constltuent of prlmarv cell metabolites
such as nucleotrdes, coenzvmes etc. ir uluo studies have
mostlv shown a srgn.lficani Cecressive effect oí P depiehon
rn the rumen on thi drgestibilitv of the fibrous fraction of
the diet (Durand et ai.,1983; Breves anC Holler, 1989). lr:
uilro technlques have demonstrated that P is specificallv
required for the degradaiion cf ce]l '*,a1i constrtuents and
particularlv for cejluiolvsis which seems to have a ir:gher P
requirement than hemiceiluloivsis and amvlclvsis
(Komisarczuk et al., 7987).
in uíuo, the available P supolv to the nrrnen should ue at
least 5 g/kg CMD rn order tc. cptrmrse ce]l wall
ieg:adaticn. Assessmeni cf :re cpimal iietar-; levels ::r'.rst
tnvoive faciors influencrng the seciehcn of salivarv P, :.e.
ciietary P content, iis absorbability. the concenkate to
íorage ratio and the phvsioiogicai siate of the animal
(Durand, i9E9). Tne absorbabrjrtv oÍ P contarneC in straws
rs not known bui rnav be verv low.
Magnesiu:n
Magnesiurn is essential to ail mrcroorganisms, activatmg
manv bacterial enzymes. Celluiases 'Írom R. ftacefacrsrs Ln
the rumen were shown to be acirvateC ,,v Mg:. (Pettipher
and Latham, 7979a). In cttro studies have shown that the
aCdition oí Mg rmoroves ceilulolvtrc actviiv (Durani ard
Kawashrrna, 1980).
Durand ar'.d Komrsarczuk (1988) suggested that, rn orrier
to satisfu tumen rrucrobial requrrements, ciietarv Mg
concentration should be in the range 1.5-2.5 g/kg OMD
depending on in srtu Mg solubiiih in the rumen. UnreateC
and atkali treated straw mav supolv about 1.2 and 0.9 g
Mg/kg OMD, respectivelv. Thev should therefore be
supplemented with Mg, although more expenmàntal data
need to be obtarned accuratelv to assess the amount of Mg
required to ophmrse cell wail ciegradatron.
Cobalt
Cobalt is requued íor the growth oí rurnen ciliates anC is
also integrated in the structure oí vrtamin B,. formed bv-
bacteria iBoni".orn-.ne e, al., 1981.). Saxe:ra anã Ranrhan
(1978) ootained an rncreased cellulose ciegradation with a
straw-based diet rn calves with Co supolementatton of
0.1mg/kg Dlv{.
Co contarned in straws is not likelv to be available, hence it
should be entirelv suppiied at O.-<-1.0 mglkg D\1.
Other trace eiernents
Trace eiements piav an important role in the meiabolism of
the rumen rmcrobiai population. The rrucrobial
requrrements ior uon, manqanese, seieruum and iodrne
Nutnlron Abstracts and Re:,,teus (series B) 1995 Vot.65 No. 11
appear to be similar to the dietarv concentration required
bv the host (Lamand, 1978). Copper and zmc contarned rn
stra.ws are unlikely to be availabie and should be supplied
rn ihe mrneral rnix. It is worth nohng that there is a narrow
boundarv between the stimuiatory ád toxic concentration
of these elements.
Functions of minerals in the mioobial rumen ettuironment
The macrormnerais contnbute to the regrüation of some
physrco-chemical charactenshcs of the iumen that are
known to have an influence on fermentation.
Osmolarity
O^smotic prpssure in the rumen is generally constant (25G
280 mOsmol/kg). Major rnineralsLonFibute more to
rumen osmolarity than do short chain fattv aods produced
:n_the rumen. ln uitro, cellulose degradahon *"iá"cr""r"a
when the osmotic pressure was gróater than 400 mOsrnol/
kg. Aikali treatment of straws with sodium hvdroxide can
affect the osmotÍc pressLlre. Bergen (1972) reported thai
wr,en the osmolantv of the rn uilro media wàs rncreased
above 4C0 mOsmolTkg with sodium salts, rn r:í!ro cellulose
oeqradatron was reducei br. 8C9. or lTrore.
Rumen dilution rate
Dilutron rate can L'e increased bv the addihon of sodium
saits. However, rncreased dilutián rate has been obsewed
to reduce tne fibre digestibilitv of high forage diets. An
explanahon ts that lncreaseC ',vater lntake, owing io
sodrum levels, diluted the bacteriai pop.rt"t o.,, f;indering
suDstrate.e_nz\rme contact anC hencá reducing fibre
cirqestron (Koes and Pfander. 1975).
Effect of other dietarv ingredienis on straw
digestion
D i g estibie celiuiose and /or hemi celiulose
Aikaii treat:nent of straw incieases the rate of <iegradation
oí. skaw inc..rbated in nvlon bags in the r"umen.
f 1-pj.r
Silva and. Orskov (1988a) showed that the degradation of
unrieated siraw is improved when it is incubãted in the
ru:nen of animais fed aikaii-treated straw compareci with
those fed untreated straw. It was suggested thát thus may
be due to more favourable rumen conditions created bv the
increase in digestibie ceiluloses and hemicelluloses of '
alkair-:reated strar,r,. Unmolasseci sugarbeet pulp or dneC
grass when gíven at a level cf iSC g/kg straw DM
rnc:eased coth the rate and extent oí dàgradation of
untreaied'Darlev straw DM bv 9 and 15% respectively
(Silva and Orskov, 1988b). Crirus pu)p and sóyabean'meai
naC no effect on the degradatron ôf siraw, while frsh meal
appeared to have a small effect. in contrast, when
.ar.-,rnonia :reated straw was supglemented with moiassed
'sugarbeet
pulp up to a rate of C.45 of the total diet DM,
there was no effect on DM degradation (Fahmy et ai.,1984).
It was suggested that ammonla treated straw
supoiemented with sulphur and trace mrnerals cannot be
pgeatlv improved by addition of supplements of digestible
cellulose/ hemicellúlose material.
t ch base
Sta d supplemenls
The inclusron of high levels of starch rich concenkates in
m:xed diets has long been found to reduce cell wall
degradatron (Sutton. 1986). The reduction of cellulolvtic
achvitv can be due to decreases in the number of
ceiiulolvtic bacteria and/or their growth rates, the rate
cellujases are synthesised and thJenzyme activitv. A
decirne of pH to values beiow 6.2, often observej with
grar_lsupplementation, can initiate these effects. Fahmy el
cl. (1984) supplemented am:nonia treated straw with Íólled
barlev up io an inclusion rate of 200 g/kg with no effect on
straw intake and DM <iegraciatron. At higher rnclusion
rates, there was a s:g:.jf:cani decrease rn"DM degradation.
The Nutrittonal Value A,f Cereal Slraw For Rumtnants - A Reoieu'
This corresponded with a dechne in rumen pH to below
6.2. Mould et al. (1983/81) showed that w'hen the rumen
pH was less than 6.1 rate of digestion of fibre was reduced.
Zorrilla-Rioset al. (19E9.) reported that suppiementation of
untreated and arnmonia treated wheat straw w'ith, whole
shelled maize (WSM) did not reduce st:a*' intake or Dlvl
degradation at 10 g/kg bodv weight 07s, but dÍd at the
higher rate oÍ2a gikg bodv weight 07s. The aciverse effeci
of WSM on the drgestron and rniake of straw mav be
partially mediated bv decreasing pH.
In uttro degradatron of pure ceilulose was much reduced
bv the presence of starch which lowered the pH from 6.5
to beiow 5.-<. This effect was not observed when the pH
was marntained at tire control ievei (Durand, 1978). Van
G';iswyk and Schwaitz (198.i) reported that the additron
of starch rncreases the lag time in the ciegradatron of
grass fibre in aitra and ihat sararns oí B. strccinogenes,
which can use both starch anci ceiiulose, preferentialiv
digest starch. This bacteria when gro*'r on giucose
reduces !ts cellulase svnthesrs. Tnls suprorts the Íact
that the number of ceiiuioivtrc bactera dces not alter
greatlv l§rth rncreast:rq leve.s oÍ ier=entabie
ca:bohvdrate. Ir: ori'0, iSere couii :e a selectron fcr less
pH-sensitrve stralns or ior strarns ',r'nicr prefeientiailv
use sta:ch or glucose.
Stewari et a!. (7979; concluded íron', rn rrlro stuiies on the
effect of starch on fibre digestLon that high arnounts oí
starcn have detrimeniai effects on the iigestron of
roughages, but that smaii am.ounts strmulate bacierial
ciigestion cf strax' Dv e;rha:.c:iq tr,e cactenal aitachrneni io
particulaie matter.
Caoee: et al. (1989) showed ihat::.e ef{eci of aariev g:arn
suppiementatron on orgar.ic r.atter rntake cf barleY strarv
was Cecendent on vaneti'. OtLer worke:s have shorvr ihat
t:re trrre of cereal r:c ellel ci :::cess::g n';ll :rave
iiffenng effects on rumen pH .ian.qe iZrskcq i98i;
Zcrrilia-fuos et ai., i9E9). in orcier tc trv ic o:t:cuse cell
waii degradation oí :ereai strarvs thrcugh sucple;::rentation
'*'ith e:".ergy souÍces, :-r.ore resea:cl-, '* ill :e :ecuiied cn
these topics.
Microbial growth Íactcrs
It has alreadv been suggesteC that branched cl..arn
voiatile fattv acrds (BFA) st:murate celr wail ciegiadaticr,
as thev are required c.,'ceijuloivt:c lacterial strains
(Russell, 198{). The formatron of these BFAs Írcn a::".rnc
aciis rs d.ependeni on cultural ccr,ctilons such as the
availabiliiy of an energv scurce. In,;trc, addition oi
BFAs increased rsolatec celi n,all drgestion
(Gorosrio ei ai., 1955 "iart
Stack and Cotta (1986) showed that addrtion of 3-
ohenvioropanorc acid to a defineci rr,.ed.ium dramaticailv
increased ceiiuiolvtic actr!'itv of R. clbu.s. The mode of
achon of this rs strll unknown. ln ç'ttro addrtron of B
vitamias has imoroved the ciegradatron rate oÍ strah'
(Bouillier-Oudoi et al., 1988;.
Iiis clear that the availabilitv of gron't;r Íactors can h.ave a
great inJiuence on the growtjl rai:e of certarn bacteria, anci
that their suppiv is depenoent on interaciions Detween
bacieria. \thether these compounds should be added
directlv to straw cirets requrres :urther research.
Yeast cullures
ln tsitro veast cultures have been shon'n to rncrease the
number of anaerobrc bactena Írve-íoici and tne number of
celluioivtic bactena n+,o-Íold (Dan,sor,, 19E7). Studies rx
uíoowith sheep feci untreateci straw and supelemented
with yeast culiures iemo:rsiratec a siight increase in both
rumen DH anü total VFA prociuctron (Grav and Rvan,
i 990).
799
Fungal cultures
Inclusion oÍ a iive fungal extract (Aspergilius orvzae, AO)
in diets can rncrease the numbers of cellulolvtrc bacteria
in the rumen (Wiedmeier et a|.,7987; Frumholtz et ci.,
i989). in uioo, the addition of AO fermentatlon extract to
the straw dret increased the initial rate of straw
degradation, but did not alter the final extent of rumen
ciegradation (Fonievila et al., 1990). There u,as ar,.
overall lncrease in the total bacterial pooulation in the
rumen, but there was no increase in celiuiolvtic bacterial
numbers as reported bv Frumhoitz et a/. (19ô9). AO has
ceen shown to exhibit cellulolvtic activitv (Walsh and
Stewart, 1969). Fondevila et al. (1990) suggesteC that the
improvement in rate of straw degradation rt,ith AO was
ciue, not to an increase in cellujolvtic bacteria counts, but
io an rrÍ.,piovernent in their aitacnment anci colonisat:on
of straw.
Further work needs to be undertaken to confirm these
results, and to eiucrdate the mode of actron of AO.
Proteín sugglements
Some effects o: pru.tein supolemeniatlon on the
degradatrorr. of strarç have'oeen cijscusseci earlier rn sec::on
Source of nrtiogen.
A smail supplernent of fish meal given to sheeo feC
untreated bariev straw significantlv imprcved organic
ma iter dr gestibilitv compãred r.r'ith the uns upplei-rentec
contrc>l (Siiva et al., i989). This was not the case with. a
sr niiar supc iementatron exDerime ni ustng a nr.r..oni.l
:reated straw. Sup:iementatron of u:..t:eatei sira',1 1\-tti.
:oih fish rr,.ea" ani sugarbeet pulc qa,,'e hrqher live',veigri
gains ihan when arrmonia treateo straw rvas feC aicne.
This has :ractical ir..plications Íor situaiioi*c where straw
treatmen: rs ncl ccnt'enient. Srlva and Ars(ov íi988b)
prev:cuslv shc.4'ec Íisr, n-.,eal to have cniv a s::,all effec: :n
improvlr.e unireateC bariev strarr degracia::cr in ti-,.e
rume... The drÍerence seen in the rmDrovernent cf stra?,'
iigestibllrrr 1\'t:h íish meai suppiementaho:r. betveen tne-se
trt'o exDer:men:s mav be due to an tnclease in arnino acrC
supply io ihe host animal rather than to rur.en changes rn
CeEiradatron of fibre. This is show,n rn the signrircant
increase rn oveiail drgestibilltv in the flrst experirnent ano
onl',' a sr..all increase ín rumen degradacilrtv in the sec.:nc
McAllan (199i) showed that fish meal suppier,e:.,tatic:.
srgnifrcanilv eràanced the digestibiirtres oi tre st:!jctuÍal
carcohydrates vr,itn both untreateci anC a:r::ronia t:eatec
barlev straw. The i:'nprovement in the sirarv Cigestrbrii:",
ciue to the ammonia treatment anci tne fish meal
supoiementattcn weÍe addittve.
Suppiementatlon of untreated wheat Straw wltn sova'oean
meai rncreased straw intake anci averap;e Cai1r, gatns of
steers. When ammoniated straw r,r'as subsiituted for
untreated straw, th.e N in the ammonla tÍeaieci sfÍaw was
used for grorvth as efficientlv as 500 g of scvabean meal
(Zorrllia-Rros et a".. 199 1). Suppiementaiion of a ::r;r,onia
treated straw r+'ith sovabean meal did not in.Dro\.e D!'1
deg:adatron in the rumen tFahmv er aj.. l95{.. Thrs
inciicates ih.at the :'umenenvironment creaieC bv a::u:r.onla
treated strah' suppiemented wrth suiphur anC tiace
mrnerals cannot Lre rmproved bv addit:on of protein. ln
contrast, supplementatron of sodlum hvciroxide treated
straw with either sovabean meal or fish meal to a ievel of
159 N/kg DM improved organrc rnatter rntake and straw
organic r:ratter drgestibiliti/ to sjrnilar exte:rts (\g'arnbr an<i
Canrohng, 199i,).
The variable resuits reporied for protetn suppie::"r.entat:cn
of stra.t+'s indrcates the need for more extensrr.e research r:t
thrs area, including the effect of supolementlng strarr's
t:ealed':r' o::e: -:reans.
l(r0
ENERGY VALUE OF STRAW
As noted earlier (Table 4) the eross energv (GE) content of
strau' is approxrmatelv 18.5-18.8 Mj/kg DM and rs srmriar
to ti..at obsen'eci in other forages. The extent to which the
anrmal can utilise this energv ts ciependent primarriv on
the extent of skaw ceii wail ciegradation rt'hiclr takei piace
in ihe rumen, aithough further-iermentatron of ceil walis
mav take place rn the caecum anc colon. ii is aiso
recognised (see Crvens, i967; Campirng el ;i., 1990) that the
energv avariable from strau, can r,'arv consrderablv Some of
thrs vanabilitv can be attributed to cereal spectes, varretv
and harvestrng method.
EfÍect of cereal species on energv value
There is a consrderable amount of data in the iiterature (see
for example Staniforth. 1979) regarding the ireestibiiih'cf
UK gron'r sirarr' as measurei :,: : rrrc ,:s::i the rurne:r ílu!d
tncubatron proceciure of Tiliev anci Terrv (19ó3\. Hc,,vevei
there are fe.,vcr ieports rt,hlch çrovide rneasurernents of
oreestibilrt'"'or meiabolrsable enerqv (\,1Ft rr: i:.,c. Tabie 5
provrcies â suÍ1:nart' of recent ,trsestibllltv anÕ \1E
rTrea5ureme:tt5 ma.ie ;rr t r:r. usL:q sheeF.
The results summariseci rn Tarle 5 shon' ciear:r. ihat
crganrc maiter drgestibr)rtv /O\tDt and VE --cnients can
var,' consÍcerai:lv n'ithr;r cereal specres. Tnrs sugeesis that
the tradrtionai oeiteí of the t:.ie:ror:iv of rvneat ."lrtrt," t..
'carlev
s:rarv cices not alrr'avs rr'-d :iue. l: t:.e repolt ci
Civer'.s et al . (19891, oat strarr's had srgnríicar.tlr' (i)<0.C'1 )
hreher cirgesit'clirtv values than n,heat or':ariev strat!s,
alr;rr".rqh lre Í:nirngs cf \\'t::n.::: cj c.. -o!i,. w::.-
srnalle; nurnbers, dirl not shou'ii",rs eífeci. \aiues:n T.rL-le 5
are suocorteC cv orgestibilitv ineasur.:r.cnts ::.. i:rtro -:',
Kernan c: il.1,1979) anC Adamsr:r.. anC Bast:::-,a:" (ig8::
:otr, oí'arhcrn fcu;rd evidence that wheat straws couid be
c.í ecuai or treater dtgestibiiitl' ihan bariev straw,.
It should 'oe noteC th.at the Ín€as,rrerneni cf w5cie traci
dree-ctibilli'; and ME content of stra.*'s poses a numcer cf
problen.s rot encountered v,'1ih other fcrages. These
::o'bler:rs have been rev:ewei in detail ct Cotivn g! oi.
'l03?'anc oi:e:.. :nclude the:reei :o cr;:.-rra:e:r-e r.ai.-les for
the straw ov difference w,hen tis rnciusron raie in the diet rs
lorv, and the need to ensure that tne total cire: rs aciecuate
rn nrtioqen and suiphur to oDttrntse celiuloivtrc concttlons
in the ru;:-,,en (see also secilon Rumen diqesiron of thls
revre'§). Grvers el q!. i199C;:-so shr',r'eC :-,ar. julsiantial
Cirferences in irgestlbilitv couii occur :ei.ó/eeÍl
iaroratcr:es anc .wiihin a Ia3Jr3tor.,. it tne sar.e studv it
sho'r'i'. tial esttmat:tc :;iesl:::lt.r. -r' .:, ;.o-o':ce _gi tt,
"r'as
a greater error oí a"t"rrr',,i."5nii.l"" t;"a,ü r**r uiorl"
Table 5. Mean drgestibilrtv and enegv vaiues cí UK cereal straws
measured rn z,rz,c (SD rn parenthesis).
Cereal Orgur,iF
"
specres samDies Ír.atter (.\1li kg Dlr.li
d:gestibih:r'
!Vheal 0..i5(0.07,1r ó.0(0 89) 'v!arr.man ri ai. (198,i)
l c.3.1 Í,.C !.e:d
62 t1.45í0.0521 6.0(1.10) G:vens ei ai. (1989)
Barlev '1 0.43(0.014) 5.8(C.43) \\arnman el ai. 0984)
4 0..1.1(0.036)' 7.1(0.29) Rerd ct ai. (1988)
51 0.,18(0.055l 6.5(1.?1) Crven.i el al. (1989)
Oats a 0.45(0.07.1) ó.0(0.E9) l\'a:nman et dl. 098.1)
0,5i (0.009 ) 7.1){,1.11't Grvens el al. í1989)
1, Drv matier drgestibilitv
l', \:r:',:e: ll sanples.
Nrlnrrcrr Abstracts and Reaiews (Series B) 1995 Voi.65 No. 1,.
ad itbttunr. The difficulties measuring digestibilitv and ME
1t1 v-tua àÍ? irkelt. to have contributed to
at least some oÍ the
vanatlon in tne mean vaiues shown in Table 5.
The nvlon Dag meihod (Chenost et al.,l97C) has been
widelv useci as a method for studyrng ciegradation of
straws in the rumen. In terms of p:.oviciing information on
effect of cereai species, the resultó of Tuah'ei al. (i9g6) are
not entrreir' rn agreerneni wtth the whole tract ciigesiibiirrr.
measureÍnents rn Table 5. ln the studv oÍ Tuah eÍ át
tiSSAi,
mean DM losses of 49.9,37.4 and 48.79" were recorcled fo:.
l9 barler', l.i x,heat anC 1i oat straws re-spectrvelv after 4g n
of rncubatron. although the values for ba'rlev straw were
ootaineC usrng sheep n'hereas the others u,ere from stee.
I ne supertor:tv of oat stralvs over w,heat w,as largelv
accounted for 'uv differences in the amount of walei so
matenal í.1 0. i0 6% DM; wheat, oats). in marked cont:-
tne rvork of Snand eÍ cj. 09E8) shon,eci higher -lS-h loss,
for i2 rvheat (-i4.i%\ than 6 oai stra\.!,s (3E.i'1,). Thrs w.as
desprte the oat straws har':nq highe:. concent:.atrons oí
trmedtatetr. soiunie rnater:al.
(l9E6t useC an enzvme solut.ll)ty prgceciure:.r
.ler.r'ell cl rri.
c()mpanng tre cirgestibilrt\, ur i,tlra of three sarnpies each i,:
lr':nter rtheal, w.rr.ter'oarlcr and sp:rnq oarjcr.. Tlre mean
DO\'ID contents ',vere 311, 3.1E and 352 gi kg bM,
respectlve.r'. ihe vaiue Íor',r't:rtr:r rvheri bernq s:cntÍrcantlr
:-<C.l-i .rrrfe: tian that .(,r sir)nq brr]er. \,,tabl\.. ln ::,-,
studv of leu'ell ct ai. (l9Ee), dlffere:rces rn enzvme
solubllrir, l\,e:e n()t rr.eji correlaied rvrth :he Drorortions l:l
botanrcal fractrons of ihe straws whereas Tirlaei, and
Kellarlar' (19S2) attlbuted iarse dlfie:.ences rn ln irrir.o
:':ne- .:c:r': j:ce:::b:lr:r'(): \1 reJ: ani ,.r. s:rn!\.s :,,
::i:e::::c:. :: .ea: ânc steti :r^:^:-.rcn>
\\';rilsi ::r qe:e:ai, oatstra\4:s tend to ha'e nigher
drgestibiirries iha:-, other seec)es, straw, srec;es rs clearl\
not a rellable guide even to tne ranking cf st:-aw, oual::i
EÍÍect of cereal varietv on energv value
Until relaitvelv recent jri the effect of r..arietv u.ithrr scecres
e:r tle e:e:i'.'r'ai'.:e r. s:-r,r's .as:í,: ote::-:cnsiCe:.e.;
exiens:r'elr'. lervejl rt a/. (19E6) showed that varietv coul.
signrfrcantrv ir.Íluence ihe enzr.me solubrl:tv ot winte:.
wheat si:;rx s *':th Aguria rni Ava:on har.ing the lorr,esi
ll7:.; <ql\i;;r:C higrcst,3t,-i g i<g D\1 r.aiues,
respectiveir: :r th:s stuCv. An extensrve stuCr..(Tuah cl rl .
"l9df,t of :ii:e:ert strarv vrnet:e,
gr,.* ,.. i". ,..i" ,".,
"
under iientlcai ccnd:trons shorved concluslve evidence cÍ
varieiai effecls on Dtr{ lcss curing incubai:on rn nvicn oags
rn the rur:re:. The :esulis of tre bôst ftve varieiies oí u,heit.
carie_v an,l oats straws are given for illustratir,,e pu:poses
in Table 6.
Later work ,.Lcing stra\r's from ihe same locatron (shanci cl
ai., l9E6) rndicated ihat the same vanet!. mav have a
suDstantraliv different value between vêars. Also, althougn
the rankrng of r.arieties was senerallv similar, there were
some cases where rankrng was considerabiv ciifferent.
Reference
Orskov eÍ al. (1990) studred the consistencv of varietal
Clfferences ln sprrng barlev and wrnter u,heat across lhree
vears anc in oats and winter barlev acrcss t\^.() vears. Tlet.
e; cl. (198g) conciuCeC tnat for all varreries there were iarge vear to
vear differences !n rumen de6radatron. altno;gh rn mos:
cases the rankrng of varieties was slmilâr. Moà recentlr;
tne e:;ects of sire lr.e where grownr and \.arietv on the D\1
ioss in the rumen aÍter 24 h Àave been studied ov lVrrght
and Hugh.es (1991). These workers useC 12 varreties oJ
scr:nq ba:jev stràw grorr.n on eight sltes coverlnE
Seocraphical extremes of Eneland and \!ãles. poi Dll:
losses after 2.1 h rncubatron in the rumen, drfferences
between sltes h,ere larger than between vátietles and
effects of siie accounteà Íor 69.to of the total vaiiabilitr.
comparec rv:th onj.r 9% for varietl,. The site x vane3.
::.:e:a-'::c: h às :(': s:qnri:carr. Desprre the iarge :niuence
The Nutrrttonal Value Of Cercal Strazo For Rumtnants - A Retsrra'

Table 6. Mean dry matter loss (DML) aÍter 48 h rncubahon for independent of stem quality. Differences in the quairtv oí
vanetres of wheat, bariev and oats straws (after Tuah el a/., 1986) Ieaves and sterrrs mav also lead to the possrbil:t,"i o:
mechanicai straw fractionation with tÉe leaves berng used
Cereal Va:'ie§ DML for antmal feed and the stems for industrral a.rrhcatrons
species (% DM rncubated) such as paper and hardboard manufacture (Ràien and
Wheat Stetson 40.2 Munck, 1984). Whilst not of reievance ta the UK, ri rs wort:
Armada 39.1 recorciing that whilst the drgestibrlitv of ieaves rs Ãreater
Bngand Jó./ than stems in temperate cerêais, the opposite is th'e case
Longbo*, 38.4 with rrce straw (Capoer, 1988).
Brlmstone 37.6
Effects of agronomic and harvesting practice on
energy value
Barlev Doublet 48.0
Corgi Et'ftct o,f nrtrogen fertiliser
Tasman 46.4 Although there seems to be lÍttle information from the UK
Natasha 46.0 on the effect of rate of feriiiiser nrtrogen appiied to cereal
Heriot 4-<.4
croDs on the Ctgestibilitv of the strawl, sorná stuires fronr
Canada have been reported. ln partrculai Ker.an ej al.
Oats
(19Ei) comoarei applving nitrogen to :rine w,heat varreties
]v'Íaris Tabard 60.7
Saladrn 58.7
at eriher l.5o or 22i kgrha rnd shou,ed ihat the
Ballad 56..i prooortron.of leaf stgnificantllt rncreased with tncreasing
Cabana 563 :1rilLrqen. Th.ls rncrease was, hoh'ever. sma.il altnouen
ivlatra f+.-, :ncreased nrtrogen also tended to lncrease sire:tlv ine
organlc :rr.atter,Crqestrbilttv r n i'rl'a, :-.:'t1e:. f j u ; O ::,ethodt oi
the leaves iat most trom C.48 to 0.511.
.,t.1.\,di1o,ãttl
of site there vl'as reasonabie consistencv in the perfosnance "'"'"'À''.'À"'
of individuai vanehes ai dlfterent sltes. For exai:,.ple. vane!:\' increasing ihe cuttrnq helght has'ceen shown (Smith eÍ al.,
Digger had the overall irighest degradabiiii:v *'hereas iq75,:o su5stantra.lv reciuce straw vtell. S:nce ih:s shouic
varieties Blenheirn, Ilka, Triumph ani Klaxon conslstentl\, be ciue aimost entrrelr, to a :.eductrcn in the r,:-opor:ron of
proCuceC lou' :urnen degradabilttres. \cta'elr: orotern an.c sten"., lncreased cuttrÁg height shoulc ieai to rncreasec
ceil 'wall fractlons were n-,.uch iess consistent fron slte ic site. digestrciiitv of the harves:ed straw. T:.e authcrs 1..a,.,e ncri
It Is interesting to note tha: there aDsears tc be little or no touni anv data t,o substantlate thls
caÍielation 'cetween the exte:,t of cieg:aciabiliiv ci sira'w anC ilorqal irsease
grarn .delc (Tuah et a.., igSS; Shanc s: ;r., i98,3) suggesnFt
ine possibilitv cf creedrng vaneties Íor straw oualiiv* There appears to be litile rnformaiior. on tire e:iect of
u'ithout affeciing vielc. Tnrs subieC r,as also'ceer. Íunga1 crsease oÍ siraw on lts cirgestlor. iiow,ei.e:. ,,vitt:
extenstveiv irsc'rsseci 5r' Ca:pe:' 19E6). dec:eascd -:se :f Íu:tr:::es a:i ::::ease: .a:: :r s::-;-.ri,:
It now see:rrs clear that varleiv can have a substantiai ihere na;r :e increasec rrsk of fur.gai cirseases afiectr:rg
s::a'.... T:.is is an a:ea u'ô:::\.t.i st'JC\..
inÍluence on the energ','\'aiuecf ce:eal sirart's, altnough
iiÍÍerences between varie::es can oe ;:..uch smalier thar,,
Cifferences Detween vears or sites. lt ls thus not possible to
Effect of processing and treatment on energv value
ascribe a unrque vaiue io ar', indir':dual varietlr There are :r,.anv ph."'sical and chemical treatments rvhrch
ha', e ceen uses ln a j:tempis to enhance the feeii:..c vaiue
Effect of botanicai fractions of straw on energv oÍ s:ia',\'. Han and Garreti (19E6) lrsted b phvsical anci 2o
value che::",:cal ::eatrnenis lr aCdrt:on l.: itologicai lÍeat.nenls
Work unCertaken in Svria anc ihe UK (Caooer e, aj., 1985) :;'\ -'!'.e ::'.lCr3Orqa:.ts:xs. e:.2\.-.eS an: :u:-.i: :.;:-ciS:ç.
'with bariev strarv indicateci that leai:stem'ratio ras a 1i9S3) ras :ecentlv revrewecj rnar ! ot ine r.e:h.ocs ar,C, tr
subsiantial effect on cirgestibllitv ín ,ttro using rur,en fluic. :he iiesent revielr', l: ts lntei.,ciec :o e*aratn" cr-t. ihe
The work rndicated thai leaves are more dtgesticle ihar :ieain-,er.:s ivnicn aie cr mav oe ct s:ini::ca:ce::. the UK.
stems and, in the case of the UK straws, stem heigit was
th.e malor determinant of ieaf:stem rairo, short stelns Delnt
favoured. Studies bv Rarnanzin et a,. (i986) usrnt the nvjcn ' Table 7. Vean vaiues Ícr 4,9h degradabilrtr. (Ceg), the rmlnediatel\
bag technioue confirmei these finci:ngs for iu'o varietrés ci solu'cle ::ac::cn ar. lhe tnsoluble :ut oetracian]e :::l:r-,,: b: an.l
barley strau'. Further lnvesttgatrons (Shand et aj., 1986; the rate oí ciegradatrcrn ,c: for the botan:cal ír.rct:r,ns oi r,ais âÍ\J
confirmed that leaves of rvheat anci oat straws *,ere also oí tvheat strah. (after Shand et ai., 1988).
higher degradabilitv than stems. Tabie 7 summanses some
oÍ the findings of Shanc el ai. (1988). Botanical 48h a b c a+b
fracnon deg t"" D\'l , (q.) ( "1,) (h,) {%)
The figures in Table 7 hjer"jrght not onlv the grea:er extent oi
ciigestion of the ieaves tha:t ine ste::..s (r.temocies;, but also Oat straws:
the faster rate oÍ drgestion. Other work (Bhargava et cJ,, 19Eô. Leaves 50 l 4.0 56.7 0.03i 60.7
nas idmtified that witiln the ieaves of barlev strar\'s. the leaí
lnternodes 27.'; 11 6 30.5 0.015 42.1
blade has a hrgher potenhal degraCabiirtv and rate of
Nodes {e.-a E.1 45..5 0.0-51 53 6
degradahon than the Ieaf sheath. Gotc el nl. (1991) have
Chaíf 67 .q -5 ti E0.8 0.05§ 75.O
studied the reasons for differences between botarucal fractions
ln terms of speciírc ceii t,pes and thetr crganisahon. Wheat straws:
Shand et ai. (1988) also reported that whilst in rvheat, h.ig;r Leaves 61.1 -38 -:i
^rt.i / 3.4
qualitv leaves were rnoieratelv correjated h'rth high lnternodes 33.C 7.6 Jt.L i'.ti-a 44.8
cuahry stems (r = 0.70). h'ith oats the correlailon rl,as ver\.
Nodes 51.1 9.8 aJ. r ll,i'-- i 54.9
poor (r = 0.i5). lnformairon on thls asDect appears io be
í_hrrÍ !^ l 10.0 37.r' 0.C3-r
scarce but if the poor correjatlon is conflrmeC bv other r, \.1ean of o varieties
stuC:es, :t:nav be:oss:b.e:c se,e:: :c: h:g-r cua:r:r. leaf :, \'leai.r oi 12 r,arretres
802
Table 8. Efiect oí sodrum hvdrorrde on the digestibilrtres and
<irgestible energv contents of u'heat. barier.and oat straws (after
lvloss et a/., 1990).
lVheai Bariev Oats
UT]TUTT UTT
DOMDr(g/kg) 371 35,i .195 ó§i ,1.17 53§
Organrc matter drgestrbillt\' 0.{0 0.ól 0 5_1 0 76 0 1S 0.62
Drqestrble energv (\,Í!/kg Di\.Í) 6.3 9.1 9.1 11 9 76 9r,
r, UT, untreated; T, treated.
:, Digestible orÊanlc matter rn
drv matter.
Sodium irudroxíde
Sundstsl (,).983) has slven an oven.rerr, of tne rnain
r,,ethods for sciiuin hvciroxicie treair,ent of srrarr'. These
are essentlallv clvrcied rnto h'et ana dr\,' metr,ocis of
t:'eatmen:. \1ucr of t:re str.t\\':reate: rr'itir sociru:':^
ht'droxide ln the UK rs Drocessecl :i a 'd:'v' rrethoci
usuallv involvinq a commercial trearr:",ent machtne. Receni
unpublis:,ed studres ai :ne AD.\S D:ar tcr. FeeC
Ei'aiuatron Ur.r: on Íarm met:ois t,; a:9i:cat:on have been
corr',pared anC thrs confrrmed ti'.at ccrmF.erc:ai treatmeni
machrnes provided bv far the mosi accurate m.eans oi
aciciing socirur:r hvdróxide. Thev are aiso preferabie
because of safeiv aspects of nandi:ng this chemicrl.
iri rrii,o and i11 i:ilrc clieestibilities are ine rr,,ost frecuentir.
u>ed :neas::e:nents Íor assessi:Ê ire eitec: oi scorurr
nvdroxice. Tabie t :liustrates the ei;ect of trearment ',vt:u
socirum hvdroxide at 45 gikg D\1 usrng the rece.,t Caia of
Moss ef ai. (1990).
These res,..r-lis inciicated that the averaqe rncrease rn DOlv{D
content was 161 g/k5;; anc tl-is :rcrease \{,as not iniluencec
bv the value oÍ the '.mtreated naterial. i..:rcreases of ti."rs
n".ag:uhlde are tr-prcal cf those reporiei fcr soClun hvcroxide
treatmer.: at 3C-:- g/ (§ l\: ie: A.a\r'a r.d Cue:, 19&l;.
In addition to measurements of rvhole tract digestlbiiitl', rt
has been shou'n lLindberq el ii . 198.i, that soiru;:r
hvdroxide tÍeat:nent can tncÍease tne iraction cf stran
which is soiu'EIe anC also rrcr-ease :r.e rate oÍ c;qestron oí
the lnsolu:le Írac:ion 1n tre iuir,.e:.. These faclcrs a:e iikel,,,
io ccnt:ibute to the obsen'eo lncreasec voiuniarv tntal<e ci
sodrum nvd:oxrde treateC strarr, .',. sheeo lAiarlja a:rC
Owe:,. 1?8-1. and :ait.e /\g a=.:: a:l Cr::rr.l:.q. ig9-:.
Ammonia
Amrnonia is sorne'*'hat less corrosrr.e tnan soCluÍ,
hvdroxide anC the use of ammonia for.strarv treatment has
been extensivelv researched. Both an-hvdrous and aoueous
ammonia have been used lsee Suncistr-I, l9t8t norn.aliv at
rates of 30-35 gf kg DM. In Europe, most tÍeatrxent \^':tn
anhvdrous ammonia is uncierta<en Dv rntectlng tne
aÍnrflonia into stacks of strarl seaiei ov poivetÀr.iene si-reeis,
aithough sone commercial rreatmenr orl"r'\, ,.a ajsc. used
Treatment of strar.r,s rvrth ar.,mc'nla nas Deen shorvn to
increase digestibiirtv anci rniake alinough the responses io
treatment are normaliv rather less than for sodrum
hvdroxrde, ciesprie thefact ihat nrtroqen content rs aiso
rncreased. Treatment of UK straw.s \\.lth ammonra at 35 g/kg
.'
DM Ín an oven bv Gtvens el ai. (19SSt gave tne results
shor,r'n in Table 9
in the same experiment, the nltroge.. content oi treated
straw,s was about three times hisne: than in the urtreated
material. Also, !t '*,as noteC thaiine degree oi uDB:ad1ng
achrevecl rn an lndividual strau. rvas hi-ghiv depencent ãn
its Crgesil:illiv before irea:men:, D.Lrret- stra.,\,s utzraci:ng
Nririlrcrr Abstracts anà l?.eiíeit:s (Serrcs B) 1995 Vot.65 No. 1l
the most. A srmrlar reiatronshiD u,as observed for the effect
of amm\'nla on the rumen deg:adabilrtv of celluiose jn
varieties oÍ spring barier. strau, (Goto ci al., 1991).
G'erail increase in DO\{D content !1,as approxlmatelv 100 g,/
kg, although this was someu,hat low,er ihan the response
observed ov sr-.me other rvorkers. For example, Lawior and
O'Shea (1979) and Williar,rs et ni (1984) repàrted increase-s
rn DO\{D oí l5E and i70 g/kg, respectiveivt aithough these
strarvs had iorr.er rnrtiai cirgestibrirties than the straivs of
Givens cl n/ (1988).
The effects oí ammonra on the rumen degradatron of
strau's has aiso been ertensivelv studied çe.g. Tuah el a/.,
1956; Siiva anC Orskor,., 1966a) and Everrngion and Givens
(19ES) dernonstrated that ihe marn effect oi treatment rvas
to increase the immediatelv rumen soluble fractton of the
strarv althouÊh the rate cí deg:-aCatron of the rnsoiuble
iractlon rvas unchanged. lt is notervorthv that \;an Soest
antj !lason (i991) reported that, rn ammonta treated
trasses, the solubritsed fractron was not suDsequentiv
drgested. As a resuli irev euestr()ned the use oi the nvion
baq ani r: i.rir(-. procedures for evaluatrng upgractnF bv
amrnonia. lntormatrc--n as :o ti-e sttuatlon rvrih amrncnrr
ireeied srral\ ls requireci.
Treaiment r.,'tlh amrr,.onia has alsc,. been sholçn to ln^crease
vr;luntarv :niake of siiarr s. lervell and Campirng (1966)
showed ihat the rntake bv cattle (235-3i0 kg lrvJw,erght)
of u'heat slra\\, treateci with âqueous ammonia was
increased bi, 259i,. interestrngii'. Orskor. el n/. i19gga)
incircaied tnat for Frresian cows tncreases in voiuntarv
1ntal(e oÍ arrlrn()nla treatec barlev straw were closelt.
:e.ateC :o :.ie :ume:1 :eg:adat;o;: cnaracter:stlcs ot ire
strà'{s isee arso Secrron VOLU\TARY trNTAKE OF
STR,AW).
t;rea is a :e:al:', elv safe c:,er,ical
io haniie anci use oí
'Jree to urgrade sira\l, reiies on lts subsequent enzvmic
hvirolvsrs :c a:rmonra br.naiu:al1v occuiring ci acidec
r:rêâsp ên7r'rô< qlrô.'^,^
'} ; ; r;"il;;":-; ; ; ;;;.' : :.' : i : lj; if.il:Ii:;'
cereai stra*. Scme of therr results using we:hà: sireep {lS
kg) are sun".na:ised rn Taole 1C. The auihors concluded
that urea was :ess eÍfective than amr,onia for rmprovrnt
lntake and lhai rm:rovererts :r: d:gestibll:iv were
:er.peiaiu:? ceper.cient. Another disadvantage cf urea
treatmert ts thet hvdroivsts r:f urea to ammonia is
rnoisture iesencient. Willian'.s el a/. (1981) s;rowed that,
u'hilst hvci:olvsjs of urea .*.as iCC?ã when appiied to
mcist siral\' (D\4 550 g/kg), thrs *.. ."crr.àá to onlv 379â
rr'ith cirv stra',r, (D\1 750 g/kg). The reouirernent for high
morsture conients and higa temperatuÍe for opiirr,urr,
h,,'crolvsis ero:aolv iirr,.its the use of urea Ín temperate
cou ntrles.
En=,.tmes
The use of enzvmes for uogradrng straw has not been
stuirei erte:sivelr'. bu: :i :s reierieC to in thrs revrew
Table 9. Treatment of wheat, barlev and oats strad wiih àmmonla
(after Givens cl:1., 1988).
Wheat Barlev Oats
UTITUTT UTT
DO\1D(g/kg) 421 52r 4.11 5.13 506 562
Or5lanicmaiterd)gestibijit\. 0.45 0.55 0 46 0.51 0.54 0.ó0
Drqestible energv (Ml/kg DM) 7.7 8.1 9.5 9.C 10.i
;, UT, untreateci;
I treated.
:, Diqestibie organic maiier rn drv matter
 The Nutritional Value Of Cenal Straw For Rumitunts ' A Roirto 803
I
'1
I
Table 10. Comparison of urea with ammonia for upgrading cereal Physical forur
straws (after Sherwood and Or,ven, 1983). There is much evidence (see Walkeç 1984 for review) that
I
I
Treatrnsrt method gnnding, chopprng or pelleting straw to smail parhcle size
inqeases voluntary intake. Owen (1978) has, howevet
1
ur NH.z 1;111: UT2{ SED pointed out that paÉicle süe reduction rs a poorly defineci
679 782 643 term even when grindrng takes piace through a grven screen
i Straw intake (g DM/day) 605 28.4
I
srze. The rncreased rntake seen followrrg parhcle srze
Organic matter digestibili§ 0.36 0.49 0.42 0.48 0.019 rcduchon seems to anse essentiallv from increased rate of
passage th:ough the digeshve tract (Sundstol, 198S), although
1, Untreated; 2, Ammorua treated 35 g/kg DM;3, Urea treated, chewrng hme to reduce paÉicle size to a srze surtable for
70 g/kg DM ensiled ât DM conteÍrt of 500 g/kg for 8 weeks; digestion É also verv much reduced fll{alker, 19&1).
r, Urea treated by dipprng bales in urea solution (45 mtn in 32
It mav be noted that rnilling and chopping of straws whilst
g/litre solution) followed by 3 *'eeks' storage. rncreasi.ng intake does not increase digestibilrt,v indeed
some reduction in digestibility mav occur.

because of the potentiai of the process. The main Tabie 11. Effe« of drgestibiliw in uiz,o on voluntarv intake bv cattle
advantages of enzymic methocls are clairneC to be much of wheat and bariev stÍaws. (after Orskov et al., 1988b).
greater control of the end Products formeci after lreatment
and lrttle cr no potential environmental :'ollutton Cerea} Drv matter Vbluntarv intake
(Nakashrma and Orskor', 1989). species digestibiliw (kg DM/dav)
The iwo main aporoaches to the use cf enzvmes recently iglkg)
examrned have been related to the use of
Wrnter wheat 343 4.-<7
poivsaccharidase and ligninase enzvmes. Nakashima el
Wnter barie\' 409 J.+J
al. (1988) examined the use of polvsacchartciase enzvmes
3.36
on rice straws and showed that enzvme treatment Spnng barlev 452 74.
increased the immediatelv rumen solubie fraction and 484
^
5.1É,
the rate of degradation of the strar^'s, aithough potential
degradabrliiv was unaffected- The enzvme treatment
was unaffected by the moisiure content of the straws
over lhe range 500-700 g/kg. Sirntiar effecls have been
observed when ensiling bariey stra', 'altth celi wall Chernical treatrnent
riegradíng enzymes (Nakashr::ra arc Zrskor', 1989,' Some aspects of this have been discussei eariler (Seciron
alth.ough, in this experrment, no effect on rate of Effect oÍ processing and treatment on energv vaiue).
digestion was observed. Cnem.:cai treat:Tlent notabiv with sodiurr nvdroxiie anci
Recently Khazaal et a|. tl99$ have examrnec the effect of ar.-,rncr.ia h ave given consisten:l'l increasec v oi uilta :i
keating barley straw with a J.Ígninase enzvme produceci intakes oÍ stra$'. Using a dry sodrurn hvdroxide :rea:nent,
irorn the fungus Phaneroc'naele chr"lsosuoriult:. ln this Kristensen ii982) concluded that rntake Lncreased 'with
expenment, little effect of iig:unase eilzv:ne'*'as detected inc:easing aDpircahcn rãtes '-rp tc 4L1-50 g/kg D\{, acc.,'e
ir'. terms of ix uilro organic matter digesti'silitr', but the which it deciined. Effect of ammonia treatrnert on
authors suggested thai the oDtimum condihon for the voluntary intake of sheep and cattle is iliustrated in
enzylrne may not have been aÔjeveC.
Table 12 from the work of Siiva ei al. (1989). The :esuits r,
It is clear that rnuch further work is recuired :nto th.e use oÍ Table i2 also illustrate the fact that ammor'.ia treatm.ent had
enzrrn-es Íor enhanc-rng the ene:3ír'vaiue :i straws. a EÍeater effeci on rntake rn sheep than cattie. As ccurled
out bv the authors, this has not bern a conrJnon
obsen'ation.
YOLUNIARY INTAKE OF STRAW
The supply of energv and nufrlents irom sira"rr to the Opportunity Íor selection
animal Cepends not only uoon ihe concentration oÍ It has been known for some time that soecies such as sheec.
avaüable eneigv in the material but a;so on the amour'.t . and goats Cispiav selectrve feeciing beÉavrcur and are abió
consurned. Vvhilst in some circunsiances stiaw rs fed rn to select parts of iorage of better cualii'1. This seieciron las
írxed daily arnounts, there are manv siLrahoru where aiso'oeen demonslrated with sheep and 6oats fed strart
straw is fed ad libitum. It is, therefore, irnDortant to (Wahed and Owen, 1986). Bhargava ei al. (1988) showed
understand the factors influencrng the voluntarv intake of with sheep (55 kg liveweight) that when thev were ailo'ared
straws. These Íactors include the strarv d:gesnbiliqu, rumen to ieave uneaten proportionately 0.2, 0.3, 0.1, 0.5 and C.7 of
degradabiiity, physical form, chermcai processrng and the th.e süaw offered, the amount of leaf blade rn th.e maie:ia,
inÍiuence of otner dietarv comDonenis. consumed increased iinearlv r*'ith the amount of excess
aliowance. Owen el aJ. (1990) have also ciernonsirated
Effect of di gestib iliiv/degradability selective feedng of siraw by sheeo and goats ani have
There are manv references in the literature to the fact that shown the importance of the amount of sira*' offereC.
intake of forages is generaliy positivelv reiated to
drgestibility in oiuo and tn ortro. Studies bv Orskov et al.
(1988b) confirmed this general relatronshrp for barlev and
Table 12. Effect oÍ ammonia treatment oÍ barlev straw on
wheat straws fed to cãttie. Their resulis for untreated
voiuntaÍv lntake bv sheep and cattle (aÍter Srlva cl ai., 1989).
srraws aÍe shown in Table 1i. However, rn the same
expenment it n,as shown that the de5;radation constants Species Dailv intake (kE D\1/animal)
obtained trom the use of the nvlon bag technique were
related more closelv to intake than was whole tract Un[eated Ammonia treated
drgestibility. Aspects of this are discussed later (Section Sheep (33 kg) 0.729
PREDICTION OF ENERGY VALUE AND VOLUNTARY
Cattle (319 k6) 6.C9
iliTAKE).
804
Table 13. Intake and selection oÍ bariev straw bv wether sheep
ofterec rncreasrng amounts of strau' tafter Ou'en pi al., 199C,.
Strarv offered
(g DM kg iiveweightr da\"r)
18 54 90
Straw ofÍered (g DM/day) 957 2787 4702
Straw rehrsed (% of ofÍered) 20.8 64.7 7'--.1,
Straw Lntake (g DM/day) 758 98,{ i171
Digestible OM intake (g DOMrday) 354 552 67A
DOM, Drgestible organic matter.
Table 13 üIustrates some of the results of Gven eÍ a/. (1990).
Dgestible orgaruc matter intakes were esfrmated trorn :n zifro
ciigeslibilitv measurements of sEaw offered a:..d rcfrrsed.
From these measurements, it can be caiculatei that the
DO\íD contents (in artro) of the consurneci :rratenai were 467,
56i and 5729/kF. for the 18, 5.{ anci 90g DMi (g liverveight
dai]'"'trealments, respectrvelv Cbren eJ ai. (i99C) also
der,.orstlated that the same effect did nor occ'J with caitle.
On the basis of the above results, it apDears lhat cern,rtting
sheeD to relect iarge amounts (i.e. >509'.) oi ofiereci strarv
aliows them to select the most nutritious Dart oÍ the Diant
and rncrease daiiv :ntake oí both DM anC creesiible O\4.
The nagnitude of the effect apoears to be sl:r.ular to
upgrading strarv wrth ammonia. Aspects of thrs cleariv
need further stuir,.
Effect of dietarl supplements
Srnce straws are raturaliv deficient in :1l:roqen anc certain
rnrnerais, s.JpDiementatron of these :1utr:en:s rs normailv
reourreci to ophnuse :umen condtt:ons for stiaw drges::on.
This area has been covered in detail ur Sectlon
Optirnisaiion of cell wall degradation. Failure to
sucple:ne:..t .*'ith lhese nutnents mav leac to a red:cicn ::t
voiuntary intaie (fubeiro, 1989).
Whilst stra*. intake is norrnallv reduced :v ieeding
surpiements (Suncistlrl, 1986), there have'aeen reoorts
rndrcalng that some suppiernents can increase stialv
intake. Siiva el al. (1989) showed that, '*ner, feeding
untreated barle.r stral^,,, suppiementrng sheec with about 60
g/dav of unmoiassed sugarbeei pulp sre-r.ii:cantlv ÍP<0.05)
rncieased strau rntake from 4i.1 ro 5C5 s D\1 /dau Tire:e
was also a :lcn-siqnrficant irend io: inc:easeC strarv rniake
with suDolernents of ftsi.. meai and f:sh p)us
=eai
sugareee: p'.:lp. Since the response wrtr. s';saibeet pu-r
mav be relateci to an enhancement oÍ st:a.*' iegracaticn in
the rurnen, as observeci bv Siiva anci Ors<o\. (iSe8il, ::
r.r'ould seem lmDortant for further stuiies :o examr..e r:.1
more Cetaii the rejationships between s:raw degracaiion,
rntake anC :vpe of supplements.
PREDiCTION OF ENERGY VALUE AND
VOLUNTARY I}.ITAKE
From ihe foregoing, it is clear that the energ)'vaiue and
intake cha:acterisiics of strah's can van' ccnsiciera:i.,' Ío: a
vane:v of reasons. Thus, for rraxi:rur. ,-::i^:sa;ron cf s::a*,,
it is rrnDortant that iechntques are availaoje whlcn ca.
Dredic: importani measures of nutrrtrve vaiue, preíeraoit'
without recourse to using anrmals.
Prediction oÍ digestib ilit-v
There have been manv reported attempts to use the
concentrailon of ceil wall frachors such as c^ÊJCe fibre
(Baroer et a\.,1981; Reid et al., 19SE), neutrai anci aciC
detergent fibre (Sr-:ndstsl et a!., 7978; Barber et cJ., 198-i) ani
acrd detergert lig-r'.in (!\ârn:nan et a!.,19E-1) :o predlct
ir5:es:bil::. ci straws in zri..c. Ali these ate::...:is har.e shora.n
::.1: ce rr':ll Íraci;o:s pror-:cie ve:... poc: )re::c:rc:--.
Nutrúton Abstracls and Re:c'tews (Senes B) 1995 Vol.65 No. 11
Despite these findings there are indications that more
complex anaivses mav vieio useful informatron. For
example, Crvens ei al. (1988t showed that the
determinatton of cellulose rn isolated cell walls correlated
well with digestibie energ..v measurements in tsiuo ín
unlreated and ammonia iieated strah,s. Aiso, Mason e! ai.
(1988) have shown that feruiic acid content of straw cell
walis was able to ciearlv dishnguish between untreated
and ammonia treated siraws. Moss e, a/. (1990) also
reported that buffer extractable phenolics clearlv identified
the difference rn drgestibilrtv of untreated and sodium
hvdroxtde treated straw..
Probably the most extensiveiv used laboratorv method for
assessing stran' digestibilrn' is the in i.rtto digestron
technique usrng rumen fluid-pepsin, based àisentiallv on
the methoC of Tillev and Terrv (i963). The literaiure
contains many reports on rts use altnough rejativelv few
prcviCe relationshros with neasurernenls ín aruo. Notabjl;
exceptions rnciude the stuires oí Den Braver (1974),
Suncistol et ai. (197E) and Mcss cr al. (199C).
ln uitro tecirnroues whrch utilise cell-free celluiase/xvlanase
rvpe enz!.rnes for assessiirg stra\4' drgestibility have âlso
'oeen reported
.iew.eii cl al..-,936; Reiá c, aj., 1988). De Boever
el al. (1988) cornpared the u-ce of a pepsrn-cellulase method
with the r,rmen-fluid procecure in 16 straws and concluded
that the rurnen fluici method provicied a better relahonshio
rvúi.. drgestibrlitl' rn uruo. Morc recently, Orskov and Reid '
(1989) and Civens et al. (199i\ have compared several
enzvme-based n',.ethods with. nrrnen fluid-pepsrn anci the
use of near-infrared reÍlecta--.ce sDectroscop)- (NIRS) Íor
credrctrng digesiibiiitv rn i':i..o. A surnman.ôf these two
stucires rs shou':-. in Táble 14 ov rneans of ranking the
:netnoCs ac':c:i::tg to the t.a:tar.ce acco,:r.ted fo; (Rr).
ln the companscn. of Givens el al. (1991), NIIRS was shown to
:reCict citges5b:liiv in -rrü0 n1.cst accuratelv. Despite this, ii
acccuntei Ícr cr-v aboui 65'; of the vana--.ce :s, in .auc
"
ciigeshbilrtr. '*'her valdateci on an rrciep--ndent set oí
samples. This is iow.er than :ecorted íoi cth.er forages anC
r,av telate ic the increased e:ror of deten'.:rr.anon õf
cirgestibiiih' in uiir for sh.all's compared rvith some other
forages (see Sectron EÍfect oÍ cereal species on energv value),
Despite thrs, it wouid seern that all the merlods cited-in Table
14 and.especrall.. NIRS are stlli valuable tools for prediclurg
straw drsesil'oih:v anci energr.value. lt seems probable thal
enz'yTne rneti.,ocs ccuid ce er,lranceC cv more careíul selectron
ot enzvrne acr.,'riies (see Cr,esson ani idu-,ison, 19E9) anci the
use of NiR-q ras ccnsrde:-abie xoce for ieveloprnent.
Prediction of voiuntary intake and animal
perÍcrmance
The rumen flurC-oepsln prcrcedure has also been used to
predict anrr...aj performance. For exampie, Adamson anC
Table 14. A comparison of vaneus in urtro methods and NIRS fcr
oredrctrng drgestibiiitv in strah's rn r;iuo.
\'ÍetnoC R:{'.) Number of Reference
samples
Rumen Íluici-pepsin 61C 10
Neutral ciete16lent-cellulase 63.6 10 Orskov and Reid (1989)
NIRS 59. -1 10
NIRS 81
Rumen Ílurd-pepsin 61.: 81 Crvens et dl. (199i)1
Neutral deterqent-celluiase 6C. S Q!
Peosin-cellulase oL.- 8i
r, laiues obtarnei dunng cair'orahon.
)
The Nutrittonal Value A.f Cereal Straw For Rufitnants - A Reuiew 80-i

Table 15. Companson of varrous procedures to Predrci straw PROTEIN VALUE OF STRAW
intake and anlma) grorl'th rate.
The protein vaiue of cereai straws is iort,. An example of
Rzo/" for Number the range of crucie pÍoteln (CP) contents recordeci rn cereal
Method of ReÍerence strau's is shown in Table 16.
Intake Crowth rate straws
Effect of speciesivarietv on protein value
.1E-h - There have been manv reDor-ts that difterences exlst - in the
degradabiiitv 81.C 10
nutntive vaiues oÍ drfierent vanetles of wheat, barlev anci oat
(a*b)1, c 10a 82.E 10 Orskov cl al. (1988b)
straws (Kernanetal.,1981; Hartlev et a!.,1981). TuaheÍ al.
a,b,c 77.4 90.3 10
(1986) compared the CP content of 19 variehes of spring
barlev strarv, l4 vanehes of wheat strau', 1i varieties of oat
Rumen fluid-pepsrn 79.2 86.5 10
straw anci one varieh'cf trittcale straw qrolvn on one site
Neural detergent- 90.3 10 Reid el ul. (1988)
under identrcai agronom-lc condtticns. Tne oat stratr,s had the
cellulase
NIRS 74.0 73.7 1 0
ilghest mean CP content foliowed bv the sonng barlev and
in liuo digestibilitr' 49.0 59.3 10 ',l/heat stralvs (33.0, 30.1, ?5.9 g/kg DM, respectir.eil). The
mean vaiues and ranges of CP content are shown rn Tabie 17.
r, Degradatlon constants from the nvlon bag techntque. 1t is evident from the resujts that var:et\.has a strong
ir.íiuence on CP content oí the result:nE straws and fhat
certaln va.retres of wheai and barlev stiall' can hat,e CP
contents ecurvalent to ine rnean CP vai.-le oÍ oai straws. In
Bastrman (1984) found that it provided a qood estlmate oi a srmilar exper:rne:rt, Ramanztn et d,. (',)911measureci the
performance 1n cattle when st:aw was fed ad lrbtf rrnr. More CP content of nlne r,'arteiles oí bariev ai-.ci w,heat straws
recentil', several reports (Reid et ai., 19S8, Arskct et ai., g:own unier rcientrcal agrc\norntc conctttons. The barjev
1988b; Orskov and Reid, 1989; Orskov el ai., 1991) have s::-aws hai a rôeal Cl:nn:er: '^f t,f 3u {-'1,2. xr D-\1
com.pared ir aivo and :r urf ro ciigesiiciirh' methods with compareci *,rth 43 (:i3r g »iil.. ,-" Jr'nài],'r,rur.:.
rurxen degradation charactenstics for predicting intake Tre high stanciard det'Íations indicate consrderabie
aná animai performance. 1t should be noted, howet'er, that vanation between r,,ariettes Íor CP content. It rs u,o:'th
the first three oapers referreC to ail relate to the same noting that wheat stra*' haci highe: CP contents than
exDeriment. A surnmarv of sorne of these findings is shown barlev strarv u'hich is tie oDDCSite of that iound bv Tuan el
in Table 15, rti. (19E6). Crvenset ai. (19E9) also Í<-.und the CP conteni r-rí
Tre results in Table i5 nighirght the superrontv of siraws to be the hrghesi tn oats follorle,i bv bariev and
iegradaticn cc..stants over digestibilrti' tn uttrc, although 'wheat specles, respectivei,,'. in this s:uc."', trere ivaS :,o
:ecordeci r,'ear eÍfect on Ci conleni. 'out ihei'e '*,as a
it rrav be notec tnat the nurr,ber oí sirarvs useci was
srnall. Clea:lv anv w:despread use cf tie DÍedictlon srgnificant effect of cor:r..tv of harvest. i^,rrrqnt and :-iughes
eqlati.on given c'r Orskcv e t ai. íi988b; rvouli requ:re il99l) also showei gecera=hical location to have a
wider val:Catio:',. In :ii:c cirSestibil:tv nethods srgnifrcani eifecl on ihe CP contenl o: s:::rq larte.,' sirar.;s
'a':th a iesse: e::eci rf ', àne:\'
,erformed ai:rost as weli as degradalion constants
despite the facl thev dc not estimate degradairon rate. Effect of p.rocessins/tÍeatÍnent on protein value
Ciearll', fu:ti".e: ieveloonenf of rn iiirc ,roceCures
h'aich prcvide an estiÍnate oÍ cilgestrcr. :ate rvoulC see:-n Inrerovinq ihe feecirng value of strau.s 'cv the addition oí
tc De irnportant. cnemicais rs weil accectei, and has rece:r'eC consrcerabie
attentrc)n, aithough the:e has been jittie reporteci on the
Tacle 15 aiso inCicates that NIRS has potential for effect on prcte:n vaiue.
Dredlctlng tntake and oerformance. aitnough from the
:aeer citec;i :s not clear horl the N]RS:roceiuies \^'eie Amntcniatton
cai:1ec out a:ri for:ocust re;atronsnrcs \ii.S :equi:es Anhvdrous anmonia
large oopuiairons. Neverth.eless, NIRS nas consrierabje
poiential fcr estirrating intaKe anc periormance anc Tlpaime.t cÍ st.ah' in a sealed stack wt:i 3-3.5'," an;rvc.:"ous
Íesearch tc deveiop sound NIRS caiibrairons for ammonia rs a cornrnorlv useci cor:-,.me:cial method ci
oegradatlon characterlstics woujci seem essenitai. Whilst uperairng stra'w. Cotir':r and de BLrever /19SE) showeC 3?i,
the data referred to Dornt the wav in ,"l'hich future anhvdrous an.r:ronia ro lrnrrove the CP content of cariev
research rrav develop, at Dresent there apcear to be no and wheai straw bv 1y ani 73 gi kr D\1. respectrvelr.', úür
widely'oasec, inciependentlv valicateci relatronships an averase lmoroven.ellt of 51 g/kg D\Í. Thrs rmprcved
available for oreciict:ng straw intake or anrmai
Derforrnance.
Whilst the nvion baq technroue apDears to hold most Table 16. Average crude protein contents oÍ cereal strarr, {after
promise for pÍedictin.g intake, it is not strictlv a MAFF, 1990),
laboratory procedure and suffers from being a non- C::rde lroiern le /kc
DVI \.:ml.e: of
staniard tec.:1nlque whrch. can grve su'cstantiali_v
dliterent :esuits beiween Cifferent Ia:oratorres (see Stra.^' tvpe Mea:, SD Mr, Max. samlles
Huntingtcn anci Givens, 1993). Recentlv Blummel anC Bariev strah'
Orskov (1993) using the same 10 straw's descrrbed earlier Sprrng 42 6 72.9 20.0 71 0 31
(Orskov el ai., 1988b) have shown that the gas Winter 37 .5 11.4 26.C 59.0 16
Droduction method of Menke et al. (1979) can be
successfullv adapted to describe the fermentation
Oat straw
k::retrcs of straw. In additron, total gas productron
t,t zg,i -r{. .
co:related well with DM intake (R: = 88",;) anci growth WinteÍ 11 ô fn ic ô
J/
rate in cattie (Rr= 95",c), aithough the rnciusron of the ^
raie of gas rroductton did not imDrot e the relatronshrp.
Wheat stra',!
These results, althoueh based on a sÍna ji number of
straws, suggest that the qas productron rnethod has Spring 36.-i 7.9 25.C
Winter 39 i 1C.5 2:.i , ).l 6L)
Dotential Íor siraw, evaiuatron.
: ;-.
.'-(.\'.
,/-\J >
I Lu'
.

/
806 Nutntíon Abstracts and Reoietts (Senes B) 1995 Vot.65 No. ll
Table 17. Crude protein content of barie.v, wheat and oat straws the total N content declined to relatively constant values,
(aÍter Tuai et a|.,7986). rrrespechve of the content before airi.ng. The ammonia rn
treated straw is either gaseous, water-Éound or tightly
Strai^r bound to the straw anã both forms will be iost at ãiffánng
Spring barley Wheat Oats rates on exposure to air. Treatment conditions wili affect "

n 1.9 71 11
jl. ..np" ,ld ..?*uqygntlv the skength oÍ N bindrng
(tsenzrng-Purcire and Ripmeesteç 19g7) and this mav affect
Mean 30.1 25.9 33.0 the degree of N loss and N utilisatron bv rumen miárobes.
SD 2.24 2.26 3.26 Further research is necessary to investrgate the mrcrobial
Min. 25.4 (Colden Promtse)r 22.5 (Brock)r 26.3 (Rhiannon):
availability of different N frachons in a-mmoniated straw
Max. 33.1 (Natasha)) 29.4 (Amarda)r 3E.1 (Leanda):
according to various trcatment condltions.
n is number of samples. 1, !'ariehr
Urea

nitrogen enrichment with treatment improved the Sherwood and Owen (1983) showed urea treatment of
apparent protein digestibilrtrv, resulting in a digestibie CP cereal straw to be less effective than ammonia treatment.
content of.32 g/kg DM on average for the treated straw There is littie evidence in the literature of the effect on
compared with 1 g/kg DM for the untreated material. pÍotein value of urea treatment, although it is possible that
Sundstsl et al. (L978) indicated that ammoniation raiseC some of the N could still be rn the form-oÍ ureá if
the CP content bv 50-60 g/kg DM Vlann eÍ a/. (1988) hvdroiysis to ammonia has not been cornolete.
reported an rmproved CP content of 34 gf kg DM with. Sodtum hudroxide treatfient
amrnoniatron of wheat straw. There apDears to be little
eviCence in the iiterature oÍ the rnÍtial CP content of the Treatment with sodrum hvdroxide (NaOH) has been
untreated straw being related to the eventual CP ccntent shown to be an efÍective method for upgradrng ior,". quaiity
cf ihe arnmon:a treated strau-. stra*'s (Owen, i98i), though addrtion-oi NaOH
exacerbates the N deÍicrencv which alreadv exists in stra,,{,
Treatment of straw with ammonla not onlv increases the (Orskcv and Crubb, 1978). Moss et ai. (1990) showed
digestibiiitv but also the N content. Reporis :ndrcate that NaOH treatment io decrease the Cp conteni oÍ l0 samples
not all tils extra N can ce degraded as it is tighilv bound to of cereai straws, and tended to :.ncrease the appar€ni
the stra'w and not reieaseci in the rumen (Soiairnan eÍ a/.,
digestibiiitv of Cl aithough the differences diá not reach
1979). Therefore, the extra N bound to siraw during j signrficance.
statistica
treatment can onlv be considered to be parilv soluble in the
rulren. For untreated anC ammon;a treàted itraws, Effect of botanical fractions on protein value
Hvelpi',::rc (1985) stuciieci in saccc the extent of N
rieg:aCa:ion ln the iunen and :he subsequent cilgesiion rn As aireacv Cjsc,.rssed, strav/ is a verv heterogenous feed.sfuff
lhe lniesrrnes. Tne work showed irnproveci rurnen w'i'ir. so:r,.e pãÉ.s suc.r as the ste:r, hávrr,g a vãrv low :ru.tr.itive
de-çaiabon cf N with amixor-.ia treàrmeni, aithougn only value, whjle cLh.er parts such as the leaáre máderatelv well
7% ihe amrnonia bound to ihe st:aw was degraded :r,.
of.
the rrmen- The dtsappearai'lce cí N in the srnali urtestine llable 18. ?mpoltlons of botantcal fractrcns oÍ cereal stÍaws anc
iror:r rurren 'rr,degrãàed material of coth. ,::-.ireaied and tileir nrtrogen content (g/kg DM).
ammonja treated straw was simiiar arc iirflited, indlcahng
a low value of the undegracieC c:otetr in straw. Botar,ical fraction
Hvelpiund (1989) suggested thai, for stra*'s, the Nitrogen Reference
mpasuring of N degradabiiitv bv nneans of the nvlon bag Name Proportion content
technique was inadequate due io the rejatrve lmportance
of the mrcrobrai populatron'which is attached to both
sirarn, carticles and nvlon caqs. Other direct metr.ods of Bariev straw
measurement of microbiai s'"':lthesrs are co::rpiex, hence Whole straw 4.8
iuith.el research ts requrrec io; a retter et a:ua:lon of N Leaí biade 8.i
'l-eaí
<ieg:aia:iiitv. sheatj 3.7 Bharsava el ai. (1988)
Stems n <ô
Anhvdrous ammonia oius water anC iernperature Chaíí 0.06 7.C

There is wide variation rn the efficacv of comrr,.eroal cnerrucal

upgradr.rrg processes (Ibbotscn et ai..,' lg13 / 19ü). Factors Whole straw 1.0c 5.7
responsibie for this.vanation rnciude specles anci vaíe§ of Leaves 0.45 /,Lr
cereal íMason et. a\.,7988; Givens ei aI., 1988t, te:rserat--ue a:rd lnternodes 0.44 4.1 Ramanzrn et ai. (1986)
durahon of freatment, amount of arrrmonia erlioved and Nodes 0.06 7.2
moist-ue content of the straw fiÀêtgaard, l98l; Sundstoi anC ChaÍf 0.0,i 6.0
Coxwortl.., 1984). Mason et ai. e,990) showed üat thermc.
ammoruahor,. (9G'C for 24 h) oÍ n,heat straw with different
Oat strar+,
ntes oi anrmorua and water rmproveC the Cp content oí the
lvltrole stra*'
skaw Each incement of ammorua rased ihe Cp conte;rt a:.^C 6.6
addihons of water further enhanced tius effect. Responses LeaÍ+]s1f 56s21h 0.31 Ô,J
were small, although once *.he rate of arrmonta apphcahon lnternodes 0.57 4.5 Shand e! al. (1988)
exceeded Z)s,/kg DM, differences berween aO anà'gO g/kg Nodes 0.07
DM were not sigruficant, Chafí 0.05

Schneider and Flachowsky (1990) showed that the

vanatron in N content oÍ arr,.rnonia treated strarv is lvheat straw
accounted for bv ammonia ier,'ei, strau. moisiure and Whole straw 1.00 6.0
ternperature, respectrvell,. The efíiciencv of N reientlon in Leaí+ieaÍ sheath 0.34 6.7
straw treated with ammonra dechneC rn.rth r:.lc:easinq Intemodes 0.46 5.0 Shand el ol. (1988)
appücation rate of ammon ía t89, 67 a:rC 51o2" ..r"niio? fo, Nodes 0.06
i5, 30 and 45g NHr/kg D\,1, respectivelr.), anC aÍte: airir.g,
Tlrc Nutnuoral Value Ci Ctrea! Straw For Rnnunents - A F,eurct
digested. Thrs is aiso true of the chemrcal compositron and
run-ren degradabilfv of these components. The relatn'e
proporhons, and N contents of whole straw and its
mcrphoiogical con-lponents measured bv a series of rçorkers
are summarised in Table 18. The oat strarçs had the lughest
CP content iollor+'ed bv wh.eat and barler,, respectlveh.. ln all
cases, the ieaf plus ieaf sheath and the chafí had the ir.rghest
concentrahon cf N, u'ith the stems havhg almost h.alf the
le,,'el of N. There were large drfÍerences in N content ot leaves
and sterrs between vanehes of straw. lt would seem
appropriate, thereíore, to mecharucailv separate the leaf anci
leaf sheath kom the stem. to enable the for:':rer to be '.rseci as
animal feed and the latier for industrial cr<xessin5;.
Ramanzin e, aÍ. (1966) also reported thai the higher \
content of the leaves anc chaff ccmDarei with the ster..
was more readilv ciegraded in the rumen.
Eff ect of agronomic/harvesting practice
There have been verv fe*, stucites on the efrect of
agronormc/harvestlng Dractices on Drotein value of cereal
stiaws. Catel.v (1976) Íound that the CP content of bariev
straw increased cirectlv w'ith N fertrlrser apollcatton rate.
This was also shcwn'ov Kernan ei a/. í19Sj)'w,ith x,heat
straw. it was suggesteá that fertrirser Ieveis selected to
opt:mrse grain .;ield x'culd increase c:-o: resrdrie CP conient
anci yield. i: is :hough: i.,a: \,anetres of cereal wh:ch lrar.e
hign N tra!-§locahon percentages (grain \;total piant \) u'r1l
tenci to have a iower N conteni of the crop residue.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESEARCH
Ti^.e foliowing areas have been identifrec as requir:r.g
-- :'
iu:ihe:
.igi .'r.,f.-..
-"
research. Thev have -3een pricri:ised as ve.\'
'"' iio:a ''"5
""a =ãa"rr,"iu
Vcry high .tioity
i. Stud)'the effec,ls oÍ gecgrarrical locat:on,
Iea:, fe:tiiiser
ap:iicahon, fungai ciisease a:c te:eal ','a:letv on
nuilihonai qualú-v oí straws.
ii. Determlne the relattonships'between ihe oua.liiv oi s:rau.
ste:ns ani iea'"'es ard the :o-ssrb:li:ies fc: fract:onái:or..
iii. Examine the role cf plant breedrng rn rnfluencrnq sirarv
qualiqv.
iv. Un<iertake a coinparrson of dreesiirtl:tv ani :ur:..en
cieg:adabilitv rneasureme:'rts lJn ur'-\o ani in i,iÍr<,') for
predictng straw rntake and antrnal :erjorn-rance.
Highomortty
i. Undertake the developrrent cf irr i,itrc ar.d other
la'ooratcrv rnethods Íor precicttng ieqradacrlit.,,
characteristics.
ii. Sfud), the influence of selectivítv of animals on strarr.
and energv intake.
iii.
Examine the influence of trpe of supplement on the
intake and rumen digestron oi straws áno microbial
protein svnthesis.
Moderatelv high ori orit,t
i. Investrgate the factors rnfluencing the utiirsatjon of
nrtrogen in arnmonia,rurea treated strai{.s.
ii. Develop efficient anci envrronmentallv fnendiv means of
upgradrrg straws, e.g., use of enzvme pieoarations.
ACKNJO}VLEDGEMENTS
Funding for carrving out this review lrom the Home Grown
Cereals Authoritv is gratefullv acknor''leciged. We aiso w.isr.
to ihank D: E. Owen (Unir.ersit" of Reairr.g) for hrs
consiCerable inDut anC citical ieadir,.g of tÀe manuser::.
807
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