IN VITRO NUTRITIVE VALUE ASSESSMENT IN GOATS OF OIL PALM PRESS FIBRE SUBJECTED TO SOLID STATE FERMENTATION

Abstract

Oil palm press fibre (PPF) is a lignocellulolistic material. Its usage as energy feed for ruminant is limited by high fiber. Delignifer such as white rot fungi e.g. Pleurotus tuberregium (Fr. Singer) has been found to successfully degrade lignocellulolistic wastes using solid-state fermentation (SSF) technique. The objective of the study was to determine the chemical composition (CP, ash, OM, NDF, ADF and hemicellulose) of raw and biodegraded PPF and in-vitro fermentation parameters of raw and biodegraded PPF as well as diets containing them. Biodegradation significantly increased in-vitro DMD (P<0.05) and OMD insignificantly (P>0.05). Optimum DMD was at 30 % and 40% for untreated and treated PPF diets respectively. It is therefore concluded that untreated PPF may not be fed above 30% level in WAD goats' diets while the treated can be included up to 40%. Keywords: PPF, in-vitro, chemical composition, DMD, OMD.