Raw bagasse is a poor, fibrous roughage mostly used for ruminants. Its ingestibility, nutrient density and digestibility (about 30%) are very low. However, it is sometimes the only roughage available on-farm. When production targets are high, as with all low-quality roughages, its use must be accompanied by significant amounts of concentrate supplementation that bring nitrogen and fermentable energy to the rumen for optimal microbial activities, and energy and by-pass protein.
In vitro studies
In the French West Indies, urea treatment increased in vitro DM digestibility from 31% in untreated bagasse to about 39-40%, whereas adding a small amount of rumen fluid as a urease source had no significant effect (Hassoun et al., 1990).
In a Japanese in vitro study, culturing bagasse for 12 weeks with Lentinula edodes increased organic matter (OM) digestibility from 45.6 to 68.6% and NDF digestibility from 40 to 59%. Two strains of Ceriporiopsis subvermispora produced smaller improvements, whereas Pleurotus eryngii and P. salmoneostramineus did not improve digestibility (Okano et al., 2006). In Brazil, the treatment that gave the highest in situ digestibility in Jersey cows was a pressure of 19 kg/cm² for 6 minutes, but while steam treating the bagasse nearly doubled its potential degradability, its effective degradability was only 48% after 48 h rumen incubation (Basile et al., 1990).
Dairy cattle
Untreated bagasse
Untreated bagasse can serve as the sole roughage component of highly supplemented diets for moderate-producing dairy cows, and it can replace part of another low-quality roughage as a source of physically effective fibre. However, increasing its proportion in the diet may depress intake and milk yield.
In an Iranian study with low-forage dairy diets, replacing wheat straw with bagasse increased rumination and total chewing time, and bagasse supplied more physically effective NDF than wheat straw; however, NDF digestibility decreased (Molavian et al., 2020). In a trial in Pernambuco State, Brazil, with ten mid-lactation Girolando cows, a control diet based on spineless cactus already contained 25% bagasse on a DM basis. Experimental diets contained 45–60% bagasse as the sole roughage and were balanced with concentrate for a target milk yield of 12 kg/day. DM and OM intake and digestibility, and milk yield, at 45 and 50% bagasse were similar to those obtained with the control diet. At 55 and 60%, intake, digestibility and milk yield were lower, and several response variables declined linearly as bagasse inclusion increased (Almeida et al., 2018).
In an Iranian experiment in Iran, nine mid-lactation Holstein cows received low-forage diets containing a total of 27% wheat straw plus bagasse. Bagasse replaced wheat straw at 0, 9 or 18% of diet dry matter. DM intake and milk yield were not affected during the 21-day periods, but the digestibility of OM, crude protein (CP) and NDF decreased linearly. Rumination time increased, while ruminal pH measured four hours after feeding decreased (Molavian et al., 2020).
NaOH and urea treatments
In a Thai comparison using four non-lactating dairy cows, 3 or 6% NaOH, alone or combined with urea, increased the 48-hour degradability of bagasse DM and crude fibre, whereas urea alone increased CP content but did not improve degradability. NaOH treatments also increased ash content because the added mineral remained in the treated material. Treatment with 5-6% NaOH was reported to achieve a three-to-four fold increase in digestibility and was found to be more efficient than treatment with urea and combinations of urea and NaOH (Suksombat, 2004).
Beef cattle
Untreated bagasse is used mainly as a roughage or fibre source in beef diets. Moderate inclusion can support growth in fully supplemented diets, while responses to urea, alkali or steam treatment depend on the complete process and ration.
Untreated bagasse
In a trial with six Nellore steers in São Paulo State, Brazil fed high-concentrate diets formulated with equal amounts of NDF from roughage, the bagasse diet (10% of diet DM) had the lowest DM intake and the greatest rumen fill among diets supplying similar amounts of roughage NDF from maize silage, sugarcane, soybean hulls or cottonseed hulls (Goulart et al., 2020). Moderate amounts of finely ground bagasse can be incorporated into fully supplemented complete diets. In Puerto Rico, sixteen Holstein-Friesian or Brown Swiss male calves, four per diet, received 20 or 30% finely ground, partially depithed bagasse, 20% molasses and either about 12 or 16% CP. Average daily gain (ADF), feed intake and feed conversion did not differ significantly among the four diets. The 30% bagasse diets caused greater preslaughter liveweight shrink, and efficiency tended to deteriorate as the long feeding period progressed (Randel, 1970).
In a 105-day trial with 54 growing crossbred calves in Egypt, sun-dried, chopped bagasse replaced 50 or 100% of the barley straw portion of a diet containing 70% concentrate and 30% roughage. The urea dose simultaneously increased from zero to 1.5 and 3%, so bagasse replacement and urea supplementation were confounded. ADG was 0.683 kg in the barley-straw control, 0.859 kg with half of the roughage replaced and 0.933 kg with complete replacement; complete replacement corresponded to about 30% bagasse in the complete diet (Singer et al., 2019).
Steam pressure
In Mauritius, treatment of bagasse with high pressure steam (14 kg/cm² for 5 minutes) increased in sacco DM degradability from 28% to 60%. However, this early experiment used only a single bull (Wong You Cheong et al., 1974). In Colombia, steam-treated bagasse fed to zebu steers, receiving a supplement of either 2-3 kg per 100 kg live weight of Gliricidia sepium foliage, or 1-2 kg and ad libitum molasses/urea mixture (10% urea), resulted in ADG of 0.55-0.75 kg/day (Osorio, 1990). Steam-pressure treatment can increase bagasse digestibility and feeding value, but excessive inclusion of the treated product may still depress intake. In cattle trials reported in Florida, ADG increased from 1.10 to 1.40 kg/day as steam-pressure-treated bagasse rose from 0 to 30% of diet dry matter, then decreased at 46%. DM intake at 32% treated bagasse was twice that at 56% (Pate, 1982).
Three related experiments were conducted in Colombia. Steam treatment at 10-17 atmospheres and 180-200°C for 5-7 minutes produced a bagasse-based diet that supported ADG of 0.55-0.75 kg/day in 24 commercial Zebu steers supplemented with Gliricidia sepium, rice bran, poultry litter and urea-molasses. In a second experiment with 40 steers, ADG were 0.56-0.64 kg/day with steam-treated bagasse and 0.30 kg/day when the steamed bagasse received a subsequent 3% anhydrous-ammonia treatment. In a comparison using two cattle, 24-hour DM degradability was 14% for raw bagasse, 20% for steam-ammonia-treated bagasse and 31% for steam-treated bagasse (Osorio, 1990).
Steam-pressure-hydrolysed pith bagasse was tested in a 140-day trial with 24 young crossbred beef cattle in southwestern Iran. The pith replaced barley at 0, 11, 22 or 33% of the complete diet, while the amount of wheat straw also decreased. ADG was 1.07, 0.98, 0.86 and 0.77 kg/day, respectively; the 33% diet gave a lower gain and poorer feed conversion than the control, while most carcass traits were not significantly affected (Sabbagh Zade et al., 2009).
Alkali, urea, and ammoniation treatments
In a study with four Brahman × Thai native cattle in Thailand, untreated bagasse offered ad libitum with concentrate resulted in a lower total DM intake than rice straw (4.1 vs. 5.8 kg/day). Treating bagasse for at least 14 days with 4% urea or with 2% urea plus 2% calcium hydroxide increased total intake to about 5.1–5.2 kg/day. NDF digestibility increased from 47.1% for untreated bagasse to 57.4% with urea and 65.6% with urea plus calcium hydroxide (Gunun et al., 2016). In a in situ experiment with three Holstein steers conducted in Minas Gerais, Brazil, 4% anhydrous ammonia increased the effective degradability of bagasse DM, whereas 2.5% sodium sulfide (Na2S) alone did not (Pires et al., 2004).
Buffaloes
Ground, dried bagasse completely replaced barley straw in one lactating buffalo trial and gave favourable digestibility and milk responses, while chemically treated bagasse pith improved digestibility and liveweight gain in one older calf trial.
In Egypt, 55 lactating buffaloes received diets containing 60% concentrate and 40% roughage. Bagasse collected from cane-juice shops was dried on the floor and hammer-milled to 3–5 mm, then replaced barley straw at 0, 10, 20, 30 or 40% of diet dry matter. DM digestibility increased from 60.1% in the control to 70.5% with complete replacement of barley straw. Milk yield increased from 7.12 to 8.08 kg/day and 4% fat-corrected milk from 9.15 to 10.77 kg/day, while milk constituent percentages were not affected (El-Mola et al., 2023).
In a 90-day Pakistani feeding comparison using pith obtained from a sugar mill in Faisalabad, chemically treated bagasse pith replaced wheat straw at 31% of a ration containing green maize and concentrate. The pith was first treated with 0.5% calcium hydroxide and then with 5% ammonia. DM digestibility was 65.2% with treated pith and 47.6% with wheat straw, while ADG was 0.75 and 0.63 kg, respectively (Firdos et al., 1989).
Sheep and goats
Sugarcane bagasse can provide structural fibre in complete diets for sheep and goats, but its feeding value depends strongly on the concentrate, nitrogen and other ingredients supplied with it.
Untreated bagasse
Untreated bagasse functions as a low-quality roughage in supplemented small ruminant diets. Increasing its proportion can reduce intake, while increasing concentrate in a bagasse-based ration can increase dry matter intake and digestibility.
In an experiment with five sheep in Pernambuco State, Brazil, untreated bagasse was the sole roughage. Increasing concentrate from 40 to 80% of diet DM reduced bagasse from 60 to 20%. DM intake increased from 0.66 to 1.17 kg/day and DM digestibility from 57 to 66%, whereas NDF digestibility decreased from 50 to 41% (Silva et al., 2015). In an Indonesian experiment with fifteen male goats receiving isonitrogenous and nominally isoenergetic total mixed rations, increasing untreated bagasse from 15 to 35% of diet DM reduced DM intake from 806 to 605 g/day and CP intake from 99 to 76 g/day. CP digestibility, nitrogen retention, ruminal fermentation variables and estimated microbial nitrogen synthesis were not significantly affected (Ariyani et al., 2014).
Bagasse has also been evaluated with spineless cactus in diets for growing goats. In a 70-day trial with 24 male kids in Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil, a diet containing about 30% bagasse and 30% spineless cactus was compared with a diet containing 35% elephant-grass hay and 25% spineless cactus. Nutrient intake and ADG did not differ significantly, and DM and CP protein digestibility were higher with the bagasse–cactus diet, while elephant grass hay gave a higher hot carcass weight and yield (Campelo-Lima et al., 2022).
In an in situ experiment in Ceará State, Brazil, three Moxotó goats and three Morada Nova sheep received the same supplemented diet. The DM degradability of sun-dried bagasse was similar between species. Sheep had higher degradation rates and effective degradability: at an assumed passage rate of 2%/hour, effective DM degradability was 27.0% in sheep and 20.4% in goats, and NDF degradability was 22.6 and 19.1%, respectively (Gomes et al., 2013).
Physical processing
In a study with 12 adult rams and 12 adult male goats in Andhra Pradesh State, India, hammer-milled bagasse and steam-pelleted bagasse were offered ad libitum with 200 g concentrate per animal and day. Pelleting did not significantly change DM intake. It increased CP and energy digestibility but reduced the digestibility of several cell wall fractions, and did not improve digestible CP or Total Digestible Nutrient values. Sheep had the higher intake and digestibility of the complete ration, whereas difference-method estimates for bagasse alone favoured goats (Reddy et al., 1993).
Steam treatment
Steam-treated pith bagasse was tested in a 70-day trial with 40 three-month-old Arabi lambs in southwestern Iran. The pith replaced barley and represented 0, 11, 22 or 33% of the complete diet. ADG and feed conversion at 11 and 22% did not differ significantly from the control, whereas 33% reduced ADG from 267 to 226 g/day and worsened feed conversion from 5.24 to 6.50 (Hashemipour et al., 2009).
Chemical treatments
In Bahia State, Brazil, 24 young crossbred sheep were fed 50:50 bagasse-to-concentrate diets in which the bagasse was treated for 10 hours with 0, 0.75, 1.5 or 2.25% calcium oxide (CaO) on a fresh matter basis. DM and nutrient intake were not affected. ADG increased from 195 g with untreated bagasse to about 228–230 g at 1.5–2.25% CaO, but feed conversion and the digestibility of DM, CP and ADF did not improve. NDF digestibility showed a quadratic response and was highest at 0.75% CaO (Murta et al., 2011).
In a 74-day experiment with 34 growing Santa Inês wethers in Minas Gerais, Brazil, 50:50 forage-to-concentrate diets contained either fresh sugarcane with urea, dehydrated bagasse treated with 0.5% CaO, or bagasse ammoniated with 5% urea. DM intake and ADG were 0.984 kg and 0.155 kg/day with fresh sugarcane, 0.711 kg and 0.096 kg/day with CaO-treated bagasse, and 0.674 kg and 0.127 kg/day with ammoniated bagasse. Ammoniated bagasse gave a higher gain than the CaO-treated product, while both bagasse diets gave lower gains than the fresh cane diet (Filho et al., 2016).
In a 60-day experiment with nine male goats in Sudan, ammoniated bagasse was offered ad libitum with 100 g/day of Albizia lebbeck leaves, 100 g/day of wheat bran, or 50 g/day of each. Bagasse DM intake, the digestibility of DM, CP and NDF, and nitrogen retention were higher with Albizia leaves than with wheat bran; the mixed supplement gave intermediate or similar responses (Balgees et al., 2009).
Biological treatments
In a 2 × 3 factorial trial in eastern Ethiopia, 36 yearling rams received 50:50 roughage-to-concentrate diets based on either sugarcane bagasse or rice husks; each roughage was untreated or fermented with Trichoderma viride or effective microorganisms. The diets were not nutritionally identical, and the preparation involved cultured inocula, added substrates, 21 days of fermentation and subsequent drying. Biological treatment increased intake, ADG and several carcass measures when results were pooled across both roughages. Bagasse diets gave lower dry matter intake (680 vs. 987 g/day), ADG (53 vs. 106 g/day) and hot carcass weight (9.1 vs. 12.4 kg) than rice-husk diets (Begna et al., 2023).
Other bagasse products
Industrially-produced pith bagasse
In Iran, pith bagasse treated with steam pressure was found to have potential as an alternative feed for lambs and beef, and economically viable, though inclusion levels higher than 33% resulted in decreased feed conversion ratios and ADG (Sabbagh Zade et al., 2009; Hashemipour et al., 2009). Treatments with NaOH, calcium hydroxyde and ammonia (and various combinations of these treatments) were also found beneficial, resulting in higher digestibility, higher average day gain and lower costs when treated pith bagasse replaced wheat straw (Firdos et al., 1989).
Pressed cane stalks
When goats were offered pressed cane stalks, they avidly consumed the sugar-rich pith and discarded the lignified rind. In studies in the Dominican Republic, goats on a mixed diet of pressed stalk and fresh Gliricidia sepium foliage selected and apparently preferred the pith to the green foliage (Preston et al., 1987). It should be fed in a way that permits selection, e.g. by giving 200% of the expected DM intake. Because of the low nitrogen content, it should be supplemented with molasses-urea, rice polishings, cottonseed cake, or some other by-pass protein source, and a green foliage such as legume tree foliage.
