Influence of sugar cane intake on digestibility and ruminal fermentation in crossbreed steers fed stargrass

An experiment was conducted to study effects of feeding different levels of sugar cane on ruminal fermentation and fiber digestion in crossbreed steers fed with stargrass mixtures when sugar cane (SC) and stargrass (SG) are fed together to four crossed (Bos taurus x Bos indicus) steers (455 kg BW) with ruminal canula. A Latin square design experiment was used to test different levels of chopped sugar cane intake (0, 0.9, 1.6 and 1.8% BW) with stargrass fed ad libitum. Intake of SG reduced linearly (P<0.05) as SC feed level increased. Ruminal digestibility of DM, NDF and ADF did not change (P>0.05), although CP was increased linearly. Total ADF digestibility increased with higher intake of SC. In situ NDF digestibilities of SG and SC were not affected (P>0.05) by treatments. Molar proportion of butyrate was increased (P<0.01) but other VFA did not change. Results indicated that sugar cane can be used as a complementary forage with stargrass, showing a substitutive effect without. altering ruminal fermentation or digestibility of the diet.