SOLID STATE FERMENTATION OF Saccharum spp. AS SUPPLEMENT FOR RUMINANTS

Abstract

Biotechnology allows transforming complex molecules (cellulose and hemicellulose) or without nutritional value (urea) into molecules with nutritional value for ruminants, through the use of Solid State Fermentation (SSF) techniques, with the aim of increasing, with regards to their value without processing, the content of digestible NDF, RP and PV with help from enzymes, native microorganisms (yeasts and bacteria) and artificially inoculated during fermentation. Variables are related, such as the price of sugar cane (Saccharum spp.) for the industry in Soconusco, Chiapas, México, in addition to
the sale of young bulls for fattening and raw milk; reduction of the livestock herd (due to change in land use), scarcity of pastures, grain price increase, invasion of resistant weeds, soil compacting, pests in animals, and nutritional management with low-quality diets, with the aim of identifying a strategy that allows using sugar cane and improving it in nutritional terms for ruminants. An improvement in the quality of RP synthesized from urea added to micro silos, suggesting that SSF is a useful process for the production of enzymes and metabolites, in addition to improving the quality of the animal diet with low energetic cost, giving an added value in cane production and alleviating the limitation of foods in the dry season.