[Determination of the digestibility of lignocellulose material using the bag (nylon bag) method]

A trial was performed on wethers to study the digestibility of various lignocellulose materials (LCM) by the nylon bag method. The animals were fed good meadow hay ad lib. with unlimited access to water and mineral lick. The trial showed that LCM digestibility was not influenced by different weights of substrate sample. However, digestibility increased with the time for which the LCM were left to ferment in rumen. Almost 90% or more dry matter of the different substrates (pure sulphate cellulose, barley straw and treated beech sawdust) was digested within 48-hour fermentation in rumen. The situation is similar when the substrates are left to ferment in vitro for 96 hours. The high correlation coefficients calculated from the digestibility values of the substrates in vitro and in vivo testify to this fact. The only exception is untreated beech sawdust in which no such a high correlation was found, mainly owing to its low digestibility. However, this should be verified in other kinds of untreated wood (aspen, maple, ash), but with a higher digestibility. It should be stated that silk with a 50 mu mesh is the best material for the production of the bags.