Effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on alfalfa nutrient degradation characteristics and rumen microbial populations of steers fed diets with different concentrate-to-forage ratios

Table 1 Ingredients and chemical composition of basal diets

Item	Dietary concentrate to forage ratios
	30:70	50:50	70:30	90:10
Ingredient, % DM
Steam-flaked maize¹	13.00	34.00	54.00	74.00
Soybean curb residue²	15.20	13.90	13.70	13.30
Maize stalks	57.00	38.00	19.00	1.00
Chinese ryegrass	4.00	5.00	6.00	6.00
Alfalfa pellets	9.00	7.00	5.00	3.00
Salt	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50
Limestone	0.40	0.70	1.10	1.50
Dicalcium phosphate	0.20	0.20	0.00	0.00
Magnesium oxide	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
Sodium bicarbonate	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50
Composition, % DM
ME, MJ/kg	9.10	10.30	11.70	12.80
CP	12.70	12.70	12.70	12.80
aNDF	54.20	42.70	31.60	20.80
Starch	12.20	26.80	40.90	54.20
Ca	0.64	0.64	0.63	0.67
P	0.32	0.34	0.33	0.35

¹Flaking density is 360 g/L.
²A by-product comes from soybean processed into bean curd which is a kind of food in China.

ISSN: 2049-1891