164
Animal Nutrition Problem in Bengal
potash forms new compounds and exercises
such influence on the acid-base equilibrium of
body fluid that the urine of rice straw feeders
is invariably alkaline. This also indirectly reacts
on the lime assimilation as alkaline reaction is
unfavourable to the maintenance of optimum
solubility of lime, without which its assimilation
is retarded. A further complication lies in the
fact that although a very heavy potash ingestion
follows rice straw feeding, more potash is ex-
creted through faeces and urine than is provided
in the feed. This phenomenon seems to be
related also with the kind and quality of cake,
as in the investigations conducted linseed cake
had a beneficient effect, but mustard cake had
not. At present there is not sufficient information
explaining the excess drain of potash from the
body.
PRE-TREATMENT OF RICE STRAW
In order that the removal of these substances
could be efficiently carried out several methods
have been tried. The straw was subjected
to the treatment of lime, caustic soda and simply
water, by keeping it soaked in the respective
liquids for about 24 hours. After this period
the straw was washed and fed to animals.
The results suggest that while caustic soda treat-
ment is most efficient, its cost is a serious factor
against its adoption. Lime treatment involves
much less cost, but water treatment has the
merit of simplicity, is least costly and is able
to remove 90 per cent of potash. Moreover,
the loss of organic matter which is appreciable
under caustic soda treatment is the least under
water treatment. Yet by this simple procedure,
the feeding quality of straw is improved to such
an extent that protein and minerals are better
assimilated and even the otherwise high lime
requirement under rice straw feeding is appreci-
ably reduced.
FEEDING OF CONCENTRATES WITH RICE STRAW
As mustard cake forms a very important
source of concentrates in Bengal, various trials
were conducted with this feed in combination
with rice straw. The results have been generally
satisfactory with protein and many other com-
ponents. But, as already stated, the excess
drainage of potash under its combination is an
unsatisfactory feature for which the cause still
remains to be ascertained. Meanwhile tentative
remedies lie in giving a better combination in
which the feed should be supplemented with
a number of concentrates such as linseed or/and
other cakes, pulse by-products, green forages,
etc. This will ensure the supply of essential pro¬
teins as absence of these ingredients from
the diet is likely to bring about a corresponding
breakdown of body proteins, and as cell tissues
(which are composed of proteins) also contain
potash, an excess drainage of the latter will be
avoided by feeding rice straw with other con-
centrates than mustard cake.
RICE-KURA AND RICE BY-PRODUCT
The rice by-product of good quality is half
as rich in proteins as cakes; it contains a large
quantity of high quality oil and is exception-
ally rich in phosphorus, but a considerable
part of this phosphorus is in a complex combina-
tion chemically known as phytin which is not
generally assimilable. A collection of sample
from different sources was made and analysed.
It was found that the product consisted of a
variable mixture ranging from pure husk to
diverse grades of intermediate products. This
is mainly due to the various processes used in
the production of rice and rice by-products.
In the manufacture of rice whether by country
process or mills, the nutrients are ultimately
distributed between rice, broken rice and husks.
Since rice and broken rice go for human consump-
tion, the ingredients necessary for cattle food
have to be derived from the residual nutrients
left in the husk. The husk produced by the
country process and smaller mills are obtained
in a mixed condition and form approximately
25 per cent of parboiled paddy of which little
more than one-third, i.e. 9 per cent are capable
of being separated as finer material.
The husks from Marshalls machine are broadly
obtained at two stages, viz. ara and chanta.
The ara husk is too coarse and contains a very
large proportion of fibre and silica, whereas the
chanta husk is finer and forms 21.25 per cent of
parboiled paddy. By careful fractionation about
half of it can be separated into more suitable
cattle food. The main point to be noted in
reference to the distribution of nutrients is that
the bulk of protein and starchy parts go to rice,
while oil (ether extract), soluble ash, phosphorus,
potash and magnesia go to rice by-products.
Both rice and rice by-products are particularly