In vitro digestible energy of some agricultural residues, as influenced by gamma irradiation and sodium hydroxide

Experiments have been carried out to study the changes in the values of in vitro apparent organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) and in vitro digestible energy (IVDE) of wheat straw (WS), cotton seed shell (CSS), peanut shell (PS), soybean shell (SS), extracted olive cake (EOC) and extracted unpeeled sunflower seeds (ESS) after irradiation by various doses of gamma radiation (0, 100, 150, 200 kGy) or after spraying with different amounts of sodium hydroxide (NaOH): 0, 2, 4, and 6 g NaOH/25 mi water/100 g DM. The results indicate that there were significant increases in IVOMD and IVDE values for all irradiated samples and for sodium hydroxide treatments except for SS and ESS. Combined treatment of irradiation and sodium hydroxide resulted in a larger increase in the digestible energy than the individual treatments. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.