The Effect of Neuspora sitophila Fungi on Chemical Composition, Digestibility and Degradability of Sugar Beet Pulp

Chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and in situ (dry matter and protein) degradability were measured to assess the nutritive value of Sugar Beet Pulp (SBP) treated with Neuspora sitophila fungi. The obtained data were compared using t test. Dry Matter (DM), Crude Protein (CP), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) and ash content for untreated SBP were 90, 9.2, 46.6, 30.0 and 5.6 % of DM, respectively, and they after processed by fungi, were respectively 78, 25.6, 27.2, 25.4 and 6.3% of the DM. Treated SBP contained being a lower content of DM, NDF and ADF, but higher CP (P<0.05) than the untreated SBP. Digestibility coefficients (%) of DM, organic matter and digestible organic matter in the dry matter, were respectively, 65.8, 70.9 and 66.9% for untreated SBP, while 82.4, 89.6 and 83.9% for treated SBP. The differences between digestibility coefficients were, statistically, significant (p<0.05). Metabolisable energy of untreated SBP was 44.1 MJ/Kg DM, which was increased (after being processed), to 55.1 MJ/Kg DM (p<0.05). Effective degradability (g/kg DM) at different k (0.02, 0.05 and 0.08/h) were, respectively, 64.1, 54.5 and 46.3 for untreated SBP, and 66.4, 58.5 and 49.9 for treated SBP. The degradability parameters were improved (P<0.05) in the treated SBP. On the other hand, 'a', 'b' and 'c', and MP, also, increased after SBP being treated with fungi (p<0.05). In conclusion, treating SBP with Neuspora sitophila resulted in improving the concentration of CP, digestibility coefficients as well as protein degradability.