Fermentation Quality and Additives: A Case of Rice Straw Silage

Abstract

Rice cultivation generates large amount of crop residues of which only 20% are utilized for industrial and domestic purposes. In most developing countries especially southeast Asia, rice straw is used as part of feeding ingredients for the ruminants. However, due to its low protein content and high level of lignin and silica, there is limitation to its digestibility and nutritional value. To utilize this crop residue judiciously, there is a need for improvement of its nutritive value to promote its utilization through ensiling. Understanding the fundamental principle of ensiling is a prerequisite for successful silage product. Prominent factors influencing quality of silage product include water soluble carbohydrates, natural microbial population, and harvesting conditions of the forage. Additives are used to control the fermentation processes to enhance nutrient recovery and improve silage stability. This review emphasizes some practical aspects of silage processing and the use of additives for improvement of fermentation quality of rice straw.

Fermenting rice bran as a carbon source for biofloc technology improved the water quality, growth, feeding efficiencies, and biochemical composition of African catfish Clarias gariepinus juveniles

“…There are various carbon sources to choose from when implementing BFT, but ideally, this should be both cheap and readily available. Rice bran fulfils these criteria in most Asian and African countries that farm C. gariepinus (FAO, ; Oladosu et al, ). However, the sole use of rice bran in biofloc‐based systems can delay the removal of ammonia‐N (Khanjani et al, ; Serra et al, ) and, in the case of C. gariepinus , was believed to be the cause for excessive mortalities (Dauda et al, ).…”

Rice straw as a feedstock for biofuels: Availability, recalcitrance, and chemical properties

“…Rice straw is a by‐product generated after harvesting of rice grains from the paddy. It is composed of panicle rachis, leaf blades, leaf sheaths, and stems …”

“…But the new combine‐based harvesting methodology has made its collection quite expensive and tedious. Therefore, only 20% of rice straw is utilized while approximately 50% is burnt in fields by farmers to make their fields ready for the next crop . Incomplete combustion of rice straw liberates greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants which have been reported to contributing to asthma and other respiratory disorders in young children and the elderly .…”

Effects of sodium diacetate on the fermentation profile, chemical composition and aerobic stability of alfalfa silage

“…However, organic acids are difficult to handle because of their pungent and offensive odor, safer salts of organic acid have been proposed as alternative silage additives [3]. Sodium diacetate (SDA), an acetate derivative and food preservative, consists of sodium acetate and acetic acid, which have been proven effective substances for inhibition of the growth of enterobacteria and yeast [4].…”