Changes in Nutritional Value of Rice Husk during Tricho- derma viride Degradation

ADEROLU, Ademola Zaid, Eustace. A. IYAYI and Abiodun A. ONILUDE, 2007. Changes in nutritional value of rice husk during Trichoderma viride degradation. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 13: 583-589 Possible improvement in nutritional status of rice husk using Trichoderma viride a fungus was investigated over a period of 40 days. Proximate composition was significantly (P<0.05) improved with microbial treatment except the ether extract, which fell on day 40. With the mineral content of the biodegraded samples, both the calcium and sodium contents rose, the only exception being the potassium content, which fell below that of the undegraded sample. Biodegradation also resulted in improvement in the energy content of the treated samples when compared to the untreated but no regular pattern was observed over the period studied. Significant reduction in the cell wall content of the rice husk was observed as the period of degradation increases. The least value for NDF and ADF was obtained on Day 40 while the least value for hemicelluloses was obtained by the 30th day.