Dynamic variation of Rumen gas production and degradation pattern several forages grown on dry land

Gas production and degradation rates in the rumen are the main indicators of feed having high nutrition and potentially being utilized by ruminants for optimal production. The study purposed to analyze the dynamics of gas production and degradation patterns of seven forages fermented by rumen bacteria. Seven species of grasses were harvested from dry land, i.e., Brachiaria hybrida (BH), Brachiaria mutica (BM), Digitaria decumbens (DD), Euchlaena mexicana (EM), Panicum maximum (PM), Paspalum atratum (PA), and Pennisetum purpuroides (PP) analyzed by in vitro gas production with observation intervals of 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 72 hours. The research design used RCBD. The data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and descriptive analysis then Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) was used to test the differences between treatments. The highest gas production in the middle of fermentation was achieved by PA (40.93%) which was significantly different (p<0.05) from EM, PM, and PP. The highest gas production at 12 hours was PP (43.60 ml/200 mg DM) significantly different (p<0.05) from other grasses, the gas production at 48 and 72 hours was not different between forages. The highest theoretical degradation was reached by PP (45.93%), it was significantly different (p<0.05) compared to other forages. It was concluded that Pennisetum purpuroides tended to have more available nutrients, especially at the beginning of fermentation.