mixed ration containing olive meal as

Aim: Present study pertains to lime treatment of olive meal to improve its digestibility. The objective of the present study was to assess the in vitro dry matter degradability of total mixed ration containing lime treated olive meal at varied levels of maize replacement to know the optimum level of lime and treated olive meal as maize replacement in small ruminant diets. Materials and methods: Study was carried out in two phases. In phase I, A complete diet was formulated and treated with lime at variable concentrations (0-8%) at 25% of maize replacement and subjected to in vitro studies as per Tilley and Terry. On the basis of the results of this phase, a concentration of lime for olive treatment was selected and tested at variable levels of maize replacement (0-50%) by treated olive cake in phase II. Data was analyzed as per the procedures suggested by Snedecor and Cochran. Results: The in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of composite diet increased from 43.95% at 0% lime treatment to 48.68% on treating with 8% lime with significant (P<0.05) increase at 6% treatment level. Lime treatment beyond 6% had no further significant effect on improving the digestibility. Graded levels of maize replacement by olive meal treated with 6% lime (lime percentage selected from phase I) showed that the in vitro digestibility of mixed ration was not compromised up to 40% replacement level of maize by treated olive meal. Improved digestibility with lime treatment may be due to weakening of internal Hydrogen bonding, thereby disrupting the fiber structure in olive meal. Further lime may be saponifying the high level of fat present in olive meal, which may otherwise negatively impact the digestibility values. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the treatment with up to 6% of lime can effectively increase the digestibility of olive meal. Treated olive meal can replace up to 40% of maize from daily ration without affecting the digestibility of composite ration. Thus incorporating lime treated olive meal may prove beneficial to livestock producers.

Introduction [1].It is a rough ligno-cellulosic feed characterized by high percentage of crude fibre (CF), particularly rich in Olive (Olea europaea) production is distributed lignin, low crude protein (CP) [4] but having a over all the five continents.It is especially important in surprisingly high oil percentage [2].Further, many the Mediterranean area, Spain being first as regards workers have shown its poor digestive utilization in total cultivable area and number of productive trees.
ruminants.This may be attributed to decrease in Both olive tree culture and olive oil industry produce activity of the rumen microflora by 40 per cent after large amounts of by-products.Olive meal is a ingestion of crude olive meal [5].A researcher [2] promising unconventional feed stuff [1], which is reported that crude olive meal can replace 25% of available at very cheap prices near olive oil extraction maize from goat's ration, without compromising the plants and has potential to partially replace maize from health, nutrient intake and body weight maintenance of the ration of ruminants [2,3].Olive oil industry adult male goats, however, when replacement levels produces large amounts of various byproducts.It has higher than 25% were tested in vitro, significant been estimated, that olive oil industry produces 25 kg decline in dry matter degradability was noted.Various of crude olive meal per 100 kg of raw olive fruit.About theories have been advanced to explain the reason for 400 hectares of land is under olive plantation in Jammu poor digestibility.High fat content, its composition and province, which produces about 9 metric tons of olive ligno-cellulosic nature of olive meal have been meal, which is available from olive oil extraction mills suggested as the incriminating factors.A study [4] located at Doda and Ramban of Jammu province [2].
suggested that there is the same phenomenon of Olive meal is a promising unconventional feed stuff "protection" of carbohydrates related to lignin with olive meal as occurs with straw and when olive meal was treated with alkalis it's in vitro digestibility increased by almost four times.Keeping this background in view, it was hypothesized that treatment with lime basis of the result of this part, a concentration of lime {Ca(OH) } can help in addressing the factors that limit for olive meal treatment was selected and tested at 2 variable level of maize replacement (0-50%) by treated the utilization of olive meal.Chemical treatment with olive meal in part II.Rumen liquor was collected with a lime is aimed at weakening the ligno-cellulosic structure stomach tube fitted with vacuum pump from local of olive meal to improve the accessibility of structural goats, 4-5 hours after morning feeding.Collected carbohydrates to cellulytic micro-organisms, as well as it can form calcium salts with the free fatty acids of sample of rumen liquor was transferred into a preolive, thereby alleviating their depressing action on heated thermos flask, filtered through a four-layered digestibility and still maintaining their availability to muslin cloth and flushed with CO for 60 seconds.The in vitro study to assess the effect of meal treatment was selected and tested at variable level inclusion of lime treated olive meal as maize replacer in of maize replacement (0 -50%) by treated olive meal in the concentrate mixture of composite feed was carried part II by in vitro studies.out in two parts.First the effective level of lime for treatment of olive meal was selected and then in part II, Statistical analysis: Statistical analysis was performed effective percentage of olive meal that can potentially as per Snedecor and Cochran [10] and Duncan's replace maize in the composite diet was fixed.In part I, multiple range test.the IVDMD of composite standard diet (without olive

meal) was compared with treatment diets containing olive meal treated with lime at variable concentrations
The proximate composition and fiber fractions of (0 -8%) at 25% of maize replacement as per [9].On the olive meal used in this study are shown in Table -2.Tilley, J. M. A. and Terry, R. A. Proximate composition of the olive meal used in this free fatty acids, presence of incriminating factors and study was similar to those reported by previous reports high level of lignin with low cell contents.The lime of [11,12].CP and CF content (% dry matter (DM)) was treatment increases digestibility of fibrous feedstuffs is in agreement to that provided by [13][14][15].The per cent in agreement with [20].It appears that improved ether extract (EE) content was in agreement to the digestibility with lime treatment may be due to the values of [5,12,16].Chemical composition of olive weakening of internal H bonding, thereby disrupting meal has been shown to be influenced by factors such the fibre structure in olive cake and further lime may be as geographical origin, procedure of production and saponifying the high level of fat present in olive cake, processing [17,18].Differences in terms of CP and EE which may otherwise negatively impact the content between some of the previous reports and digestibility values.Level of lime above 6% was not results of this study for the olive meal may be attributed able to further improve the IVDMD values.On the to difference in processing method as the olive meal basis of results of trial I, 6% concentration of lime for available at Jammu is crude meal and was not subjected olive meal treatment was selected and tested at variable to solvent extraction, which explains the high EE% of level of maize replacement (25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, the analysed samples.The moisture content of olive 45%, and 50%) by treated olive cake in trial II.Results meal in this study was considerably lower than the of trial II are presented in Table-4.previous reports [3,5,19] which may be due to the fact The percent IVDMD of composite diet at all level that olive meal available for this study was heaped of replacement tested was similar (P>0.05) to the outside the processing mill and was exposed to cold air control diet.However, a point of inflection was and sunlight causing appreciable level of drying before observed at 45% replacement level.In trial II, the the sample was collected.The NDF and ADF content percentage IVDMD at various replacement level of of the olive meal were found to be 61.40 and 52.31 per maize by treated olive meal showed insignificant cent, respectively on Full form of DMB (DMB).The decline with increasing level, however, a small point of values were similar to those recorded by [4,7,13].
inflection was observed at 40% replacement level.The comparable IVDMD (P>0.05)indicated that lime In vitro dry matter digestibility: Effect of variable treatment was able to improve the IVDMD of the concentration of lime used for treatment of olive cake composite diet and therefore the sharp decline in on in vitro digestibility of composite diet is presented in IVDMD observed at levels higher than 25% Table-3.IVDMD of composite diet increased from replacement in previous report [2] was not observed in 43.95% at 0% lime treatment to 48.68% on treating the present study.Thus up to 40% replacement of maize with 8% lime with significant (P<0.05)increase at 6% by treated olive meal was suggested for incorporating treatment level.Lime treatment beyond 6% had no in the diet of small ruminants [21,22].The replacement further significant effect on improving the digestibility.levels higher than 40% would have made diet Treatment by 6% Lime was able to increase the considerably low in readily available energy IVDMD% by almost 10%.The decrease in IVDMD at components and further because 40% level was higher level of olive meal incorporation in diet has been showing a statistically insignificant inflection point.attributed to various factors as; high concentrations of doi:10.5455/vetworld.2013.440-443

2
the animal.Incubation medium is prepared under continuous The aim of the present work was to evaluate the flushing of CO .Ingredient composition of different 2 potential of adding lime treated olive meal as unconconcentrate mixtures formulated for in vitro study are ventional feed source in the ration of small ruminants.detailed in Table-1.Duplicate samples of 0.5g ground composite feed Materials and Methods (passed through 1.0mm screen) were taken in The experiment was conducted at Faculty of Erlenmeyer flask.To it 40 ml of incubation medium Veterinary Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir university of and 10ml of strained rumen liquor were added.CO gas 2Agricultural Sciences, Jammu.The study involved was bubbled in the flask for 10 minutes.Flasks were scrutinizing effect of lime treatment of olive meal and closed with Bunsen valves and inlet tubes.The flasks o variable levels of maize replacement by treated olive were incubated for 24 hours in incubator at 39 C.After meal on the in vitro dry matter degradability of the incubation, the flasks were washed with 100ml neutral composite diet.Olive meal meant for experimental trial detergent solution in 500ml spout-less beaker to make was procured from an olive oil mill located at Ramban total volume to 150ml.The samples were refluxed for 1 o district of Jammu and Kashmir.h at 100 C and then filtered through pre-weighed Gooch crucibles (G2).The samples were washedPHASE-I (Selection of effective level of lime treatment)repeatedly with hot water and finally with acetone to Proximate analysis and fiber fractionation: Proximate remove the detergent completely.The crucibles were analysis of olive meal was done as per [6] and fiber o fractions [Neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and Acid dried at 100 C for 24 h.and then weights were detergent fiber (ADF)] were done as per the method of recorded.The in vitro analysis was repeated twice.In vitro dry matter digestibility (%) was calculated using Van Soest [7].following formula; Treatment of olive meal: Lime solutions of different Calculations: Weight of crucible =W (g); Weight of concentrations (0-8%) were prepared and sprinkled on sample on dry matter basis =W1 (g); Weight of residue the olive samples at the rate of 20ml solution per + crucible =W2 (g); Weight of residue left 'W3' (g) = 100gm of olive meal.The samples were then placed in W2 -W; Net digestible dry matter (g) = W1 -W3 air tight polythene bags and left undisturbed for one %IVDMD=Net digestible dry matter (g)/Weight of week.After one week of incubation [8] samples were sample on DM basis (g) x 100 opened and used for in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) studies as per [9].Phase II (selection of replacement level): On the basis of the result of phase I, a concentration of lime for olive In vitro study:

Table - 1
. Ingredient composition (%) of concentrate mixtures used as Experimental ration for in vitro studies.

Table - 2
. Chemical composition of olive meal