Use of Pleurotus eryngii Fungus for Treatment of Rice Straw as Feed For Ruminants

This study was conducted to determine the nutritional value of rice straw after incubation with Pleurotus eryngii fungus. In experiment 1, rice straw was treated with P. eryngii at the concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5% of wet weight of substrate. The incubation times were 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks. Each experimental treatment was done in 3 replicates. Results showed that increasing the concentration of P. eryngii and incubating time decreased the content of NDF, ADL but increased the content of CP. The content of NDF and ADL was lowest, while the content of CP was highest when incubating rice straw with 2.5% P. eryngii for 8 weeks (P <0.001). In experiment 2, rice straw was treated with P. eryngii at 2.5% (w/w) and manganese was supplemented at concentrations of 100; 150; 200; 300 μg/g of wet weight of substrate. The incubation times were 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks. Each experimental treatment was done in 3 replicates. Results showed that supplementation of manganese at different concentrations and incubating 2.5% P. eryngii with rice straw had no significant effect on the content of NDF, ADL, and CP. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that using 2.5% P. eryngii without supplementation of manganese for incubating for 4 weeks would be the most effective in reducing lignin content and improving crude protein content of rice straw.