Nutrient Utilization in Crossbred Heifers Fed Urea Supplemented Diet with Varying Nitrogen Sulphur Ratio

A growth-cum-digestibility trial was conducted for 120 d on 24 crossbred heifers of 6 to 12 m age, randomly divided in 4 groups and allotted to 4 isonitrogenous dietary treatments (T1: in which urea alone was supplemented in concentrate mixture, T2 urea supplementation along with ammonium sulphate to provide N:S ratio 7:1, T3 and T4 same as T2 except that N:S ratio was 10:1 and 13:1, respectively). The intake of DM, OM, CP and gross energy was not significantly different among four treatments but the intake of DCP and DE was significantly higher in T2 and T3 (P < 0.05))han T1 and T4, though hhe eifferences setween T2 and T3 were nonsignificant. The digestibility coefficients of DM, OM, energy, CP, NDF ADF and hemicellulose were significantly higher in T2 and T3 than T1 and T4 but the differences between T2 and T3 were non-significant. Digestibility of sulphur decreased with increasing intake. Growth rates in T2 and T3 were significantly higher as compared to T4 and T1; T1 being lowest. The optimum nitrogen to sulphur ratio was found to range between 7:1 and 10:1.