Abstract

Effect of Different Pre-Cooling Methods on the Quality and Shelf Life of Broccoli

Vandana Kochhar and Satish Kumar

This study aimed to evaluate the production of gas and volatile fatty acids when glycerin was used to replace four forage species through the use of a semi-automated technique in vitro. The experimental design included 4 treatments and 4 replications. The treatments consisted of increasing levels of glycerin (0%, 30%, 50% and 70%), which was used to replace the forage plants elephant grass, sugar cane, corn silage and Brachiaria grass. Replacement of the Brachiaria and elephant grasses with glycerin affected the production of methane, carbon dioxide and ammonia nitrogen and had a positive effect on forage quality (p<0.05). With the addition of glycerin, the values for acetate production decreased (p<0.05); however, in elephant grass, when glycerin was increased to 50%, the acetate production increased from 26.51 to 26.62 and 28.60 (p<0.05). The inclusion of approximately 30% glycerin in the diet of ruminants is recommended because the inclusion of glycerin at this level had a qualitative effect on levels of methane, carbon dioxide, volatile fatty acids and ammonia nitrogen.