Wet extrusion of Kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus (Hochst ex Chiov))

Objectives To assess the effect of wet extrusion on the in vitro digestibility (pepsin-cellulase) of dry matter (IVDDM) and fiber in neutral detergent (IVDNDF) of kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus(Hochst ex Chiov)). Materials and methods Six samples of this grass harvested at 35 days of regrowth (5.0 kg/sample) were collected and cut to 2.0 cm; a subsample was taken from each sample for the formation of a mixture composed of raw grass in which the content of crude protein (CP), Neutral detergent fiber (NDF), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), ashes (Ash), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), IVDDM, and IVDNDF was determined. The remaining amount of each of the six samples was wet-extrusioned into a 2.0mm outlet conical single screw extruder rotating at 1300 rpm. The same analyzes were carried out on the bagasse obtained from each sample and in the raw sample. Data were analyzed using a two-tailed Student's t-test. Results. The bagasse obtained by wet extrusion of kikuyu grass presented a higher content of NDF and ADF with a lower content of CP and Ash than the raw grass, while the IVDDM increased by more than 8% and the IVDNDF by more than 36%. Conclusions. Wet extrusion significantly improves kikuyu grass IVDDM and IVDNDF.