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Livestock-Based Farming Systems, Renewable Resources and the Environment |
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of potassium nitrate or urea on methane production from Mimosa and Gliricidia foliages in an in vitro incubation system with molasses as the energy source. The incubation was for 24 h with measurements of total gas and per cent methane at intervals of 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours and determination of residual unfermented substrate at the end of each interval.
Gas production, per cent methane in the gas and methane produced per unit DM solubilised at each incubation interval were lower with potassium nitrate than with urea or with no NPN. There was less methane in the gas at 6 hours for Gliricidia than for Mimosa but no differences for methane per unit substrate solubilized. For all other incubation intervals there were no differences between the two foliages.