Nutritive value of some agricultural wastes as affected by relatively low gamma irradiation levels and chemical treatments.
An experiment was carried out to study the changes in the values of in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) and metabolizable energy (ME) of wheat straw, sunflower seed shell, olive cake wood, date palm seeds and peanut shell after irradiation with various levels of gamma radiation (0, 20, 40, 60 kGy; kiloGray) or after spraying with different amounts of hydrobromic acid (HBr; 47%) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH): 0, 3, 6 ml HBr and 3, 6 g NaOH in 25 ml water/100 g DM. The results indicated that chemical treatments increased the IVOMD and ME values significantly for all samples treated except the date palm seeds. There was no significant effect of irradiation on IVOMD and ME. Combined treatments of irradiation and HBr or NaOH were also found to be ineffective in increasing the IVOMD and ME values.
Al-Masri
M R
MR
Department of Agriculture, Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box 6091, Damascus, Syria. scientific@aec.org.sy
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000821:Animal Feed; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005720:Gamma Rays; D018054:Hydrobromic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D009753:Nutritive Value; D012972:Sodium Hydroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D014866:Waste Products / Q000032:analysis*
D014866:Waste Products; D018054:Hydrobromic Acid; D012972:Sodium Hydroxide