Int. J. Pure Appl. Sci. Technol., 19(1) (2013), pp. 44-48

International Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences and Technology ISSN 2229 - 6107 Available online at www.ijopaasat.in Research Paper

Proximate and Mineral Analyses of Variously Treated Sawdust as a Potential Livestock Feed Ibrahim, Y. El-Ladan1, * and E.A. Olofin2 1

Department of Geography, Umaru Musa ‘Yar-Adua University, Katsina - Nigeria

2

Department of Geography, Bayero University, Kano – Nigeria

* Corresponding author, e-mail: ([email protected]) (Received: 12-8-13; Accepted: 17-9-13)

Abstract: Sawdust, an urban solid waste becoming a nuisance in towns and cities of the under-developed countries, was treated with various chemical substances, and supplemented with molasses with a view to improving its potential nutritional value as ruminant feed. The proximate and mineral compositions of the sawdust receiving various chemical treatments (urea + molasses; wood-ash + molasses and caustic soda + molasses) were determined in the laboratory and compared with raw (un-treated) sawdust and molassestreated wheat offal. It was revealed that the potential nutritional value of raw sawdust to livestock can be modified via the treatment methods followed in the study. Calcium, Phosphorus, Sodium, Potassium, Zinc and Magnesium contents were better in the treated than the untreated sawdust. Similarly, crude protein, ether extracts and dry matter contents were enhanced through the various treatments of the raw sawdust. It was, thus, established that the potential nutritional qualities of raw sawdust could be improved by the various treatment methods followed in this study.

Keywords: Sawdust, Urban Solid Waste, Potential Livestock Feed.

1. Introduction: It is sad to note that in the face of the large ruminant livestock population in Nigeria and the escalating costs of feeding them, little or no attention has been paid towards exploring the potentials of sawdust as a livestock feed. Yet the potentials of similar waste products such as sugarcane bagasse, maize stover, poultry feather in this regard are well documented (Ranjhan, 1990).

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It is believed that high voluntary feed intake is the key to successful animal husbandry intensification because without this, rapid live-weight gains cannot be achieved. Of course, voluntary feed intake of poor quality roughages is usually low, so a treatment method that will overcome this constraint would have to be determined in order to harness these wastes and make them productive resources. Ranjhan (1990) further noted that wastes that are of interest to Animal Nutritionists, particularly in developing nations include cereal straws, pulse straws, husks, sugarcane tops, bagasse, molasses press mud, dry yeast sludge, foliage and stumps, wood and wood byproducts, solid and liquid wastes from wood manufacturing plants, discarded paper and cardboards, mango seed cake, tomato pomade, citrus peels and pulps, cashew apple wastes, pineapple bran, reject bananas, coffee processing wastes, fish wastes, sea weeds, tankage and feather meal, dried rumen contents, hoof and horn meals, digested cow-dung slurry, poultry excreta among others. However, Paterson, (2003) has argued that the principal anti-nutritive factor in utilizing most wastes as ruminant livestock feeds is their high fibrous lingo-cellulose contents. Therefore, any safe method of de-lignifications that can break this barrier can be adapted to enhance their usefulness. There are two ways of improving the usefulness of high fibrous residues such as sawdust: i. ii.

To modify them biologically, chemically or physically so as to increase the ability of the rumen microbes to degrade them. To supplement them, so as to provide condition in the rumen in which the fibers are brokendown at as high rate as possible.

This study is aimed at discovering a safe and economically efficient system of managing the problem of sawdust which accumulates in town and cities of underdeveloped countries. The major objective is to explore an efficient chemical treatment method for sawdust in transforming it to livestock feed. Thus, 3 chemical treatment techniques (Caustic soda (NaOH), Urea ([NH2]2CO), and wood ash) were tried in this work and the resultant products analyzed for nutritional compositions.

2. Materials and Methods: Materials: A composite of sawdust was obtained locally from a timber saw-mill in Katsina. Caustic soda was purchased from a chemical laboratory retail shop and the wood ash sourced from cooking spot employing firewood as fuel. Blackstrap type of molasses and wheat offal of Savannah Sugar Company, Numan and Honeywell, Lagos respectively were purchased from a local Veterinary shop. Treating the sawdust and wheat offal: i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

Caustic Soda Treatment: A 2% (1.25moles/dm3) caustic soda solution was sprinkled on the sawdust at the rate of 1liter/kg. It was then air-dried under shade for 7days to make it crisp dry and prevent fungal growth while in storage. The dried caustic soda-treated sawdust was further mixed with molasses at a ratio of 1:9 (molasses: sawdust) as described by Ibrahim (2005). This was designated CM-S. Urea Treatment: A 2% (3.33moles/dm3) urea solution was sprinkled on the sawdust at the rate of 1liter/kg. The moist sawdust was then stacked, sealed in airtight polythene and buried in a pre-constructed pit of 2m3 for 30days. Thereafter, it was removed and dried (under shade) to disperse free ammonia. The resultant compound was then mixed with molasses at a ratio of 1:9 (molasses: sawdust) and designated UM-S. Wood Ash Treatment: The sawdust was soaked in clean ordinary water for 1hour at the rate of 1Kg/liter and then sprinkled with wood ash at the rate of 0.2Kg/Kg sawdust, stacked, sealed and buried in a pre-constructed pit for 30days. The anaerobically fermented sawdust was afterwards dried to disperse poisonous gasses and prevent fungal growth and treated with molasses as done in caustic soda and urea treatments. It was designated WM-S. Wheat Offal Treatment: Wheat offal mixed with molasses as in i and ii and designated WOM.

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Laboratory Analyses: The four treatments, CM-S, UM-S, WM-S and WO-M were analyzed for % ash, % crude fiber (CF), % crude protein (CP), % dry matter (DM), % ether extract (EE) and % nitrogen free extract (NFE) according to AOAC (1975) methods. The mineral compositions for Calcium (Ca), Phosphorus (P), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Magnesium (Mg) and Manganese (Mg) were also determined and expressed in ppm.

3. Results and Discussions: The results of proximate and mineral analyses are summarized in Tables 1 and 2 respectively. Table 1: Proximate Compositions of Variously Treated Sawdust and of Molasses Treated Wheat offal Treatment

Parameter (%)

*Untreated

WO-M

CM-S

UM-S

WM-S

Dry Matter

89.90

88.59

88.82

87.78

79.90

Crude Fiber

8.90

58.67

63.16

56.67

53.33

Crude Protein

15.60

6.44

26.63

11.50

4.63

Ether Extract

0.90

2.07

2.48

3.11

3.43

Nitrogen Free Extract

70.87

25.07

23.62

20.82

34.86

Ash

3.73

7.75

4.11

7.90

3.75

SD

*Untreated Sawdust – Values shown for comparisons only. Table 2: Mineral Compositions of Variously Treated Sawdust and of Molasses Treated Wheat offal Treatment

Parameter (ppm)

*Untreated

WO-M

CM-S

UM-S

WM-S

Ca

783

2029

2425

13723

4671

P

13066

12111

10312

9410

1198

Na

2723

4813

2014

2539

1440

K

6894

5938

5798

7052

3361

Fe

603

352

458

705

540

Zn

7440

3372

3293

5073

2590

Mg

4260

3862

3771

4785

1745

Mn

5135

6207

5303

1167

1192

SD

*Untreated Sawdust – Values shown for comparisons only.

Proximate Analysis Percent Dry Matter: There were not so much variations in %DM among the four treatments. Only the untreated sawdust showed lower %DM of 79.90% compared to the range of 87.78 to 89.90 %DM obtained for all other treatments.

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Percent Crude Fiber: This was much lower in WO-M (8.90%) compared to the values for treated and untreated sawdust. Sawdust, treated or untreated had %CF values which were more than 5 times higher than that of the control (WO-M). Pure wheat bran or wheat offal has about 12% CF (NRC, 1977). Addition of 10% molasses must have been partially responsible for lowering of the values obtained in this study. Percent Crude Protein: Percent crude protein was lowest in untreated sawdust (4.63%) and highest (26.63%) in urea treated sawdust, UM-S. The %CP for WO-M (15.70%) was next to that of urea treated sawdust in value. Other treatments had much lower values. The value depicted by treatment UM-S is higher than that of wheat bran obtained by NRC, (1977) which was 15.70% CP and which was reported to have just adequate level of CP for maintenance of a mature ruminant. For growing animal however, further supplementation with slightly richer vegetable protein source such as groundnut or cottonseed cake would be required to support optimum growth. Percent Ether Extract: Ether extract was generally higher (2.07% to 3.43%) for the treated and untreated sawdust samples compared with the control which had only 0.90% EE. Percent Nitrogen Free Extract: NFE was higher in WO-M (70.87%) compared to the values obtained for treated and untreated sawdust which ranged from 20.82% to 34.86%. Sa’id and Dzowella (1989) reported 60.63% NFE for wheat offal. This shows that molasses treatment improved the nutritive value potentials of wheat offal by increasing the NFE value of the mixture. NFE represents the carbohydrate portion, the highly digestible nutrients of a feedstuff. Therefore, WO-M as a ration would be more digestible because of the molasses added and hence, it could support higher growth rate than the sole wheat offal ration. Percent Ash: The ash content was highest in the wood ash treated sawdust (WM-S) with 7.90% ash. The next in rank was caustic soda treated sawdust, CM-S with 7.75%. Untreated sawdust, WO-M and UM-S had much lower values ranging from 3.37% to 4.11%. The result did not show any significant effect of molasses treatment on the WO-M sample.

Mineral Analysis Calcium: Ca content was lower for WO-M (783ppm) than for treated or untreated sawdust. The highest value was obtained from the wood ash treated sawdust, WM-S (13723ppm). The untreated sawdust had 4671ppm, while UM-S and CM-S had 2425ppm and 2029ppm respectively. Phosphorus: The P content was very high in WO-M (13066ppm) compared to the values obtained for treated or untreated sawdust. Untreated sawdust indicated much lower value (1198ppm) than the treated sawdust, with the values falling within the range of 9410ppm to 12111ppm. The value for WO-M agrees with the findings of NRC, (1977) for wheat bran. Sodium: The Na content of caustic soda treated sawdust (CM-S) was almost twice as high as the values obtained for other sawdust wheat offal treatments. It was also about three times (3X) as high as the value obtained for the untreated sawdust. Potassium: The K content of WM-S treatment was the highest (7052ppm), while the lowest value of 3361 was recorded for the untreated sawdust. Iron: Fe was slightly lower in caustic soda and urea treated sawdust rations (352ppm and 458ppm respectively) than the values obtained for other treated or untreated sawdust. Wood ash treated sawdust (WM-S) had the highest value of 705ppm for Iron. Zinc: WO-M treatment value for Zn tallies with NRC, (1977) findings for wheat bran. It has the highest Zn content of 7440ppm compared to the values for variously treated sawdust (WM-S, 5073ppm; CM-S, 3372ppm and UM-S, 3293ppm) and the untreated sawdust, (2590ppm).

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Magnesium: The Mg content was generally higher for WM-S and WO-M. Untreated sawdust had the lowest Mg content of 1745ppm. Manganese: Mn content was highest for CM-S (6207ppm) than for other treated or untreated sawdust as well as than the value of 5135ppm obtained for WO-M.

4. Conclusions: The results of proximate and mineral analyses in this study have indicated that the potential nutritional value of raw sawdust to livestock can be modified via the treatment methods followed in the study. Calcium, Phosphorus, Sodium, Potassium, Zinc and Magnesium contents which are among the essential elements needed by farm animals for optimum performance were better in the treated than the untreated sawdust. Subsistent livestock farmers might, therefore, utilize the treated sawdust as defined in this study to cut down on the costs of purchasing commercial mineral supplements such as salt-lick and premix. Similarly, crude protein, ether extracts and dry matter contents were enhanced through the various treatments of the raw sawdust. All of these could as well be of potential significance to subsistent livestock farmers interested in fattening their animals with little inputs. Specifically, UM-S is a potential fattening ration which, according to Ranjhan (1990) should have between 21.80% and 39.20% CP on dry matter basis. Ranjhan, (1990) further indicated that the Ca and P requirements of goat range from 0.15% to 0.30% and 0.13% to 0.23% respectively. Finally, is has been established that the potential nutritional qualities of raw sawdust can be improved by the various treatment methods used in this study. These qualities were raised to near those of a conventional livestock feed sold in the market (wheat offal). However, even though the presence of nutrients that are potentially available to animals have been proved in this work, other anti-nutritive factors might make them useless (unavailable) to animals. These anti-nutritive factors are, according to Paterson, (2003) ‘those physical and chemical features of feeds potentially available for feeding, which result in lower animal productivity than would have been expected from proximate and mineral analyses of feeds’. They include, but are not restricted to physicochemical properties such as taste, texture, odor, color, phenolic compounds, toxic amino acids, cyanogenic glucocides, alkaloids etc. The next stage of this work will determine the acceptability of the variously treated sawdust treatments to a small ruminant animal, goat, Capra prisca.

References [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

A.N. Sa’id and B.H. Dzowela, Overcoming the Constraints to the Efficient Utilization of Agricultural By-Produce as Animal Feeds, ARNAB, ILCA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1990. AOAC, Official Methods of Analyses (12th Ed.), Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington, DC, 2004. M.Y.E. Ibrahim, Feeding and growth response of weaner rabbits on molasses supplemented diet, BIJE, 5(1) (2005) 113-119. NRC, National Research Council, Nutrient Requirements of Domestic Animals: No. 1 (7th Revised Edition), Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, 1977. R.T. Paterson, Uses of Trees by Livestock, 4: Anti-Nutritive Factors, Catham UK, Natural Resources Institute, 2003. S.K. Ranjhan, Animal Nutrition in the Tropics, Vikas Publishing House, Pvt. Ltd., Sahibabad Distt., Ghaziabad, UP, India, 1990.