FERMENTATION OF STRAW-BASED DIETS CONTAINING AZOLLA (AZOLLA-CAROLINIANA WILLD) USING THE RUMEN SIMULATION TECHNIQUE (RUSITEC)

A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the nutritive value of Azolla species (Azolla caroliniana) as a supplementary source of dietary nitrogen for high fiber-based diets. Experiment 1 was aimed at estimating the solubility of nitrogen and degradability of Azolla protein in rumen fluid. The second and third experiments examined the effect of incorporating Azolla (with or without urea) as a supplementary source of nitrogen for straw-based diets on fermentation characteristics using an artificial rumen (Rusitec), Untreated straw and Azolla in the proportion of 13:2 (SA) gave the lowest digestability while the highest digestibility was recorded with the diet containing urea-ammonia-treated straw supplemented with Azolla in the same ratio (TSA-1).