• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.686-693
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• 2000

Biomass yield, nutritive value and nutrient utilization efficiency of different genera of duckweed (DW, Lemnaceae) under the same nutritional and management conditions were studied. Three genera of DW namely: Lemna perpusilla, Spirodela polyrhiza and Woljfia arrhiza, were cultivated in 18 plastic sinks each of $59{\times}54{\times}35cm^3$ size. Each sink contained approximately 80 L of water and was charged once with 6.648 kg of anaerobically fermented cow dung effluent. The seed rate for Spirodela, Lemna and Wolffia were 600, 400 and $600g/m^2$ respectively. Duckweed were harvested at 48 hours intervals. Media total N concentration for Lemna and Wolffia gradually increased with time. Growth of duckweed was measured by subtracting the inoculum from the total biomass production. Growth of Spirodela ceased within 4 days but Lemna and Wolffia continue to grow up to 34 days. Bio-mass yield was significantly (p<0.05) higher in Wolffia (906 kg/ha/d) than Lemna (631 kg/ha/d). Dry matter (DM) yield was very similar in Lemna (14.80 kg/ha/d) and Wolffia (14.57 kg/ha/d). The N content was non-significant higher in Lemna (5.45%) than Wolffia (5.00%) and Spirodela (4.6%). The crude protein (CP, $N{\times}6.25$) yield was non-significantly higher in Lemna (4.83 kg/ha/d) than Wolffia (4.32 kg/ha/d). The acid detergent fibre (ADF) content was the highest in Wolffia (28.59%), followed by Spirodela (19.47%) and Lemna (12.39%). Utilization efficiency of CP was 273 and 314% respectively for Wolffia and Lemna. However, similar efficiency values for Spirodela was only 1.5%. Considering the bio-mass yield, nutritive value and nutrient utilization efficiency, production performance of DW were in the order of Lemna>Wolffia>Spirodela under the present experimental conditions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.133-137
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• 1996

Duckweed, an aquatic plant of the family Lemnaceae, is a rich source of protein and also contains cell wall materials. Spirodela, Lemna and Wolffia, the most available species of duckweeds were evaluated in terms of their chemical composition, the rate and extent of digestion of their dry matter(DM) and crude protein(CP) in the rumen and also their acceptability to the cattle. The three species contained CP of 284, 399 and $299g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ DM, respectively; NDF of 471, 574 and $476g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ DM, respectively; ADF of 215, 203 and $227g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ DM, respectively. The rumen digestibilities of DM of the three species for 24 h were 410, 570 and $731g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ DM, respectively and of CP were 528, 740 and $778g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ DM, respectively. The rates of digestion of DM of the three duckweeds were 2.22, 3.63 and $5.73%h^{-1}$, respectively and of CP were 5.14, 4.22 and $6.05%h^{-1}$, respectively. Similarly, the extent of digestion of DM were 853, 723 and $926g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ DM, respectively and of CP were 801, 874 and $943g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ DM, respectively. Mixed duckweeds as a component of a concentrate mixture were eaten by the cattle at the rate of 10% of their live weights. It may be concluded that the dry matter and crude protein of the available duckweeds wee highly degradable in the rumen and may be fed to cattle mixing with concentrates. For the effective utilization of duck weeds as cattle feed their effect on the rumen digestion kinetics of a roughage diet need to be studied carefully.