Publication history: Accepted - 9 April 2020; Published online - 12 April 2020This study is targeted at evaluating whether C. deserticola addition promotes digestion,
nitrogen and energy use, and methane production of sheep fed on fresh forage from alfalfa/tall fescue
pastures. The sheep feeding trial was conducted with four addition levels with C. deserticola powder,
and a basal diet of fresh alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea). Addition
levels of 4% and 6% improved average body weight gain (BWG) by 215.71 and 142.86 g/d, and feed
conversion ratio (FCR) by 0.20 and 0.14, respectively. Digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter
(OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and ether extract (EE) was 62.25%, 65.18%, 58.75%, and 47.25%
under the addition level of 2%, which is greater than that in the control group. C. deserticola addition
improved energy utilization efficiency, while addition levels of 2% and 4% increased nitrogen intake
and deposited nitrogen. Overall, C. deserticola has the potential to improve growth performance,
digestion of sheep, so it has suitability to be used as a feed additive.Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences,
grant number XDA20100102
National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 31672472
e Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University, grant number IRT_17R50
Major Special Science and Technology Project of Gansu Province, grant number 18ZD2FA00
