The use of in vitro gas production technique to evaluate molasses supplementation to mulberry (morus alba) and rice straw mixed diets

Mulberry foliages have high nutritive value (protein content, digestibility and degradability), therefore it is potential to be used as a supplement to poor quality roughages. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of addition of fermentable energy in the mixed of mulberry and rice straw basal diet. A control diet consisted of either rice straw (RS) or urea treated rice straw mixed with mulberry foliage (URS) with ratio of 60 : 40%. Treatment was formulated by supplementation of control diet with molasses (as sources of fermentable energy) at 3 levels (5, 10 and 15%). The study was conducted in a 2 x 4 factorial experiment, consisted of 2 levels rice straw (untreated and urea treated) and 4 levels molasses supplementation (control and 3 levels for molasses). Diets were evaluated using in vitro gas production. The fermentation kinetics was determined from the incubation of 200 mg sample during 96 hours. The calculation of the kinetics based on exponential equation P = A+ B (1-e-ct). A shorter gas production test was carried out to determine truly degradable fermented substrates (in vitro true organic matter degradability/IVTOMD) by incubating 500 mg of samples 24 hours. The result showed that there was no significant interaction between rice straw treatment and molasses supplementation on fermentation characteristics, in vitro true dry matter digestibility, fermented substrate and total volatile fatty acid (VFA) production. However there was a significant interaction between rice straw treatment on partitioning factor (PF), gas produced, propionic acid production and ratio between acetic acid and propionic acid. Molasses supplementation significantly (P0.05) decreased gas production and ratio of acetic to propionic acid, and increase PF, propionic acid production in untreated rice straw mulberry (RSM) basal diet. It is concluded that molasses supplementation to RSM diet decreased gas production and ratio of C2/C3, and increased PF and propionic acid production. Key Words: Mulberry Foliage, Molasses, Rice Straw, In Vitro Gas Productio

Effects of Dietary Oil Supplementation with Different Fatty Acid Profiles on Rumen Fibre Degrading Bacteria Population in Goats

Effects of dietary oil supplementation on the predominant rumen fibre-degrading bacteria population were investigated. In this experiment, rumen fibre-degrading bacteria population were evaluated on 16 fistulated male goats that were randomly assigned to four treatment groups: T1: control/basal diet (CNT); T2: basal diet + olive oil (OL); T3: basal diet + palm olein oil (PO); and T4: basal diet + sunflower oil (SF). The oil content was supplemented at 6% of DM bases. Rumen content was collected from each individual animal and the DNA was extracted accordingly. The number of rumen fibre-degrading bacteria was enumerated via real-time PCR method. Significant difference (P0.05) were observed for Ruminococcus albus in supplemented diet as compared to T1. The other two fibre-degrading bacteria, Fibrobacter succinogenes and R. flavefaciens were not highly affected by the supplementation of the dietary oils. This study has demonstrated that supplementation of dietary oils with differing fatty acid components has no impact on the predominant rumen fibre-degrading bacteria which benefit the animals by providing extra energy from the dietary oil supplementation without compromising the ability of rumen fibre digestion process

Yield and nutritive quality of napier (Pennisetumpurpureum) cultivars as fresh and ensiled fodder

Napier grass is a C4 type tropical grass and commonly used as ruminant feedstuffs due to its promising yield. The preservation of Napier grass is to ensure continuous feed supply for the animals during shortage of forages as well as preserving the quality of the grasses. The study on nutritive quality of fresh and ensiled Napier cultivars was conducted at March 2014 at Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. Four Napier cultivars (Common Napier, Silver Napier, Red Napier and Dwarf Napier) were sown in a randomized complete block design with three replications.The Common, Silver and Red Napier were classified as tall types and Dwarf Napier as short cultivar.Results revealed that Common Napier and Red Napier hadsignificantly higher (P<0.05) dry matter yield (DMY). Both Silver and Dwarf Napier have the lowest DMY (P<0.05) regardless of the grass height. Generally, Dwarf Napier had the highest leaf to stem ratio(3.18) and nutritive value (10% crude protein (CP); 66% in-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD); 56% in-vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD)) than tall cultivars. The process of fermentation clearly decreased the nutritive value of Napier cultivars. The ensiling process decreased (P<0.05) neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content (72 to 67%), IVDMD (69 to 61%)and increased (P<0.05) the IVOMD (52 to 58%) and gross energy (16 to 17 MJ/kg).Regardless of the feed types, the CP content of Napier cultivars surpassed 7% of the minimum requirement for rumen microbial sustainability. There were interaction (P<0.05) between cultivars and feed types on CP, potential gas production (A+B), metabolisable energy (ME) and degradation rates (C). The CP content of Common, Red and Dwarf Napier increased numerically due to ensiling process. Nevertheless, the ME content and C value declined gradually after the ensiling process. The compaction during ensiling process could affect the quality of Napier cultivars in particular the IVDMD and the degradation ratesdue to leaching of nutrient.It is concluded that the nutritive value of Napier cultivars were generally decreased due to preservation mechanism. Despite, the CPcontent and total gas production of Common Napier increased significantlyafter ensiled

Yield and nutritive value of four napier (pennisetum purpureum) cultivars at different harvesting ages

An experiment was conducted to assess the yield and nutritive value of four Napier (Pennisetum purpureum) cultivars (Common, Silver, Red and Dwarf Napier) harvested at three different ages (4th, 6th and 8th weeks old). The interaction of cultivars and harvesting ages (P0.05) in IVDMD. Red Napier is suggested to be harvested on 8th weeks old to maximize the DMY. Common Napier was best harvested at 6th weeks where the highest DMY can be attained without incur further losses in term of nutritive value

Yield and nutritive quality of four napier (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.) cultivars harvested at different ages as fresh and ensiled fodder

Studies were conducted to evaluate the yield and nutritive quality of four Napier (Pennisetum purpureum) cultivars namely Common, Silver, Red and Dwarf Napier harvested at 4, 6 and 8 weeks age as fresh and ensiled fodder. Common, Silver and Red Napier were classified as tall cultivars while Dwarf Napier is a short cultivar. The harvesting ages selected were within of the range of optimum cutting age for Napier grass. Study 1 was conducted to determine the dry matter yield and leaf to stem ratio of fresh Napier cultivars at 4, 6 and 8 weeks old. The dry matter yield of Common Napier reached a peak of 6 tonnes ha-1 cut-1 at 6-week old. The dry matter yield of Red Napier gradually increased and peaked 6 tonnes ha-1 cut-1 at 8 weeks old. Silver Napier yielded a similar dry matter production as Dwarf Napier as well as the lowest yield throughout the study. The leaf to stem ratio of Napier cultivars declined significantly from 3.24 at 4 weeks to 1.94 at 6 weeks. Dwarf Napier had the highest leaf to stem ratio (3.93) among the cultivars. The nutritional composition and digestibility of fresh Napier cultivars at 4, 6 and 8 weeks were evaluated in Study 2. Dwarf Napier had the highest nutritive quality among the cultivars throughout the harvesting ages (12 to 20% CP). Overall, tall cultivars have higher NDF, ADF and ADL content than Dwarf Napier. Interestingly,the crude protein content of Red Napier (11%) remained unchanged throughout the harvesting ages. In terms of digestibility, Dwarf Napier and 6-week old Red Napier were classified as high quality feed (> 70% IVDMD and > 65% IVOMD). Study 3 was conducted to evaluate and compare the nutritional composition and digestibility of fresh and ensiled cultivars at 6 and 8 weeks harvesting age. The crude protein of Common Napier increased significantly after ensiling process from 8 to 9%. In contrast, a significant loss in crude protein content was observed in ensiled Silver Napier (9% CP) compared to the fresh forage (10% CP). A significant loss in cell wall constituent of Napier grass was observed in ensiled cultivars regardless of the harvesting ages. All cultivars have similar IVDMD, and the IVDMD declined from 68 to 60% after ensilation. Nevertheless the improvement in IVOMD from 52 to 58% in silage might derive from the bacteria population. In conclusion, Common Napier is recommended to be harvested at 6 weeks age to obtain highest dry matter yield as well as minimizing loss of nutritive value. Red Napier could be harvested at 6 and 8 weeks age since there were no change in crude protein content. Dwarf Napier had superior quality and could be harvested at 6 weeks since the crude protein was able to fulfill the requirement for growing and lactating animals. The dry matter yield of Dwarf Napier could be maximized by harvesting at 8 weeks age. Silver Napier had similar dry matter yield and no advantage in nutritive quality compared to Dwarf Napier. Nevertheless, Silver Napier is suggested to be harvested at 6 weeks since significant loss in nutritive value was observed especially crude protein at 8 weeks

Effects of two CIDR-based oestrus synchronization protocols on oestrus response in boer goats.

Sixty fertile and healthy female Boer goats were divided equally and randomly into two groups (n=30). The first group received CIDR treatment for 14 days (T14) with 400 IU PMSG and 0.05 mg cloprostenol injection (i.m.) prior to CIDR removal and the second group received CIDR treatment for 9 days (T9) with 0.05 mg cloprostenol injection (i.m.) 24 hours before CIDR removal. The number of does with oestrus and the time of oestrus sign were recorded every 6-hour interval and the observation was conducted from 24 hours after CIDR removal and terminated 66 hours after CIDR removal. Blood samples were taken from all of the does before CIDR insertion and 48 hours after CIDR removal. The results showed all 30 does (100%) in T14 and 28 does (93.3%) in T9 came to oestrus. The mean time of does showing signs of oestrus for both treatments were significantly different in tail flagging and standing to be mounted (P0.05). The current study suggests that CIDR treatment for 14 days with 400 IU PMSG and 0.05 mg cloprostenol prior to CIDR removal gave better result in oestrus synchronisation compared to CIDR treatment for 9 days with 0.05 mg cloprostenol given 24 hours before CIDR removal

Co-curricular management practices among novice teachers in Malaysia

This article aims to identify the level of knowledge and preparedness among novice teachers in the implementation of co-curricular activities in secondary schools in the state of Kedah, Malaysia.A total of 162 novice teachers deployed to teach in secondary schools throughout the state of Kedah answered the questionnaire completely. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and statistical inference including mean, percentage, independent samples t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation.The results, based on six different academic disciplines, show that novice teachers in the humanities, sciences and technical were higher than novice teachers of language areas in the level of knowledge in managing as well as their willingness to plan teaching and learning co-curricular activities in school.A comparison of novice teachers based on gender showed that there was no significant difference between male and female teachers related to level of knowledge and preparedness in managing co-curricular activities.The Pearson correlation analysis showed positive and significant correlation between teachers' readiness in planning teaching and learning and the teachers’ knowledge in managing co-curricular activities.Furthermore, novice teachers who had attended the extra-curricular course during the first degree acquired higher levels of knowledge in managing extra-curricular activities after teaching in schools

Effect of substrate placement in schott vial to hematite properties

In the present study, hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanostructures were deposited on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate using sonicated immersion synthesis method. The effect of FTO glass substrate placement in Schott vial during immersion process was studied on the growth of the hematite nanostructure and its properties. XRD pattern has revealed seven diffraction peaks of α-Fe2O3 for both hematite nanostructures samples attributed to polycrystalline with rhombohedral lattice structure. The surface morphologies from FESEM have shown that the hematite nanostructures were grown uniformly in both samples with FTO conductive layer facing up and down. Hematite sample with FTO facing down exhibits a smaller size of nanorod, 26.7 nm average diameter, compared to the hematite sample that FTO face up with 53.8nm average diameter. Optical properties revealed higher transmittance in the sample with FTO facing down, probably due to smaller size of nanostructure. The optical band gap energy plotted and extrapolated at 2.50eV and 2.55eV for FTO face up and FTO face down hematite samples respectively, presenting the sample with FTO face up has a lower optical bandgap energy