Effect of urea and calcium sulfate on the digestibility of sugarcane by ruminants

Abstract

The objective of this research was to determine the effect of urea and calcium sulfate on the digestibility and nitrogen balance of a high neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) sugarcane by ruminants. The experiment was conducted and analysed according to a completely randomized block design with six sheep per treatment. The following treatments were studied: A) sugarcane with 1.0% urea; B) sugarcane with 0.9% urea and 0.1% calcium sulfate; C) sugarcane with 0.8% urea and 0.2% calcium sulfate. Urea and calcium sulfate levels did not affect (P > 0.05) digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein and energy. The digestibility of NDF and acid-detergent fibre (ADF) decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in treatment C in relation to treatment B. The treatments B and C did not increase N retention (as % of the ingested). Rumen pH and plasma urea were not affected (P > 0.05) by the treatments.