Effect of combinations of feed-grade urea and slow-release urea in a finishing beef diet on fermentation in an artificial rumen system

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of combinations of feed-grade urea and slow-release urea (SRU) on fermentation and microbial protein synthesis within two artificial rumens (Rusitec) fed a finishing concentrate diet. The experiment was a completely randomized, dose-response design with SRU substituted at levels of 0% (control), 0.5%, 1%, or 1.75% of dry matter (DM) in place of feed-grade urea, with four replicate fermenters per dosage. The diet consisted of 90% concentrate and 10% forage (DM basis). The experiment was conducted over 15 d, with 8 d of adaptation and 7 d of sampling. Dry matter and organic matter disappearances were determined after 48 h of incubation from day 9 to 12, and daily ammonia (NH3) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production were measured from day 9 to 12. Microbial protein synthesis was determined on days 13-15. Increasing the level of SRU quadratically affected total VFA (Q, P = 0.031) and ammonia (Q, P = 0.034), with a linear increment in acetate (L, P = 0.01) and isovalerate (L, P = 0.05) and reduction in butyrate (L, P = 0.05). Disappearance of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) was quadratically affected by levels of SRU, plateauing at 1% SRU. Inclusion of 1% SRU resulted in the highest amount of microbial nitrogen associated with feed particles (Q, P = 0.037). Responses in the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis fluctuated (L, P = 0.002; Q, P = 0.001) and were the highest for 1% SRU. In general, the result of this study showed that 1% SRU in combination with 0.6% urea increased NDF and ADF digestibility and total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) production.