Application of fresh rice straw treated with  urea and lime as cattle feed for small-holder farmers in  villages of Angiang province
 

Le Thi Thuy Hang, Ngo Van Man* and T R Preston**

Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
Angiang University, Vietnam
ltthang@agu.edu.vn

Fifteen tonnes of fresh rice straw from an early – maturing variety were preserved immediately after threshing using 30g urea and 30g lime kg^-1 dry matter (DM) of straw applied as the straw was packed by machine into high density bales. The bales were then piled in a heap which was sealed with polyethylene sheet. After 4 weeks of storage, the preserved straw was used to partially replace fresh maize stover in diets for 12 fattening cattle (Vietnamese Local Yellow breed) located in three farms. The two diets were: MS: 100% maize stover ad libitum:ULTRS: limited maize stover (about 1% of LW as DM) + urea-lime-treated fresh rice straw ad libitum.

Straw preserved for 4 – 5 months was in nearly all cases of good quality. Crude protein content was increased 1.46 fold. The maize stover (from the immature plant used to produce "baby corn") was lower in DM content compared to ULTFRS. Total DM intake tended to be higher for the mixture of ULTFRS and maize stover. Growth rates of the cattle were 408 g/day for MS and 383 g/day for ULTFRS. 

It is concluded that ULTFRS can partially replace immature maize stover in the diet of cattle in the dry season and in the flood season when maize stover is not available.

Key words: Maize stover, baby corn, growth rate, DM intake