NEELAKANTAN, S.PRAJAPATI, JASHBHAI BHIKHABHAI2018-06-042018-06-041989http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810049007Considering the quantitative importance of cereal straws and the need for feeding these residues to the large populations of livestocks especially in developing countries, considerable efforts have been made to upgrade their nutritive value. Recent biotechnological approaches utilising efficient and improved micro-organisms for bioconversion of cereal crop residues with supplementation under optimised fermentation conditions has provided enough basic knowledge and encouragement to produce a wholesome feed with higher digestible organic matter and crude protein availability. An attempt has been made in the present study to initially screen the candidate lignocellulolytic fungi for their better competitive saprophytic ability on wheat straw. Among the 29 molds tested in sterile and unsterile wheat straw with supplements like water, urea, whey and butter milk, the best eleven molds selected included Pleurotus sp. P3 , P2 , P7H7 and Z-15, N. sitophila 3189 and ATCC 36935, C. velutipes, C.cinereus, A. terreus, C. cladosporindes and P. chrysosporium. The cultures were tested for SSF of wheat straw with urea, whey or butter milk supplementation for 7 days under sterile and unsterile conditions and the samples were evaluated for digestible dry matter .and crude protein recoveries. During the SSF of water, or urea supplemented straw, C. velutipes resulted in less DM loss (7.72-12.88%) and consequently yielded higher DDMR (45.02-48.90%) in the fermented straw. Pleurotus sp. P7H7 and P. ostreatus Z-15 showed comparatively higher DDMR (42.55-47.26%) and minimum DM losses (5.58-10.35%) in urea supplemented straw under sterile and unsterile condi- , tions. In whey or butter milk supplemented straw, all the eleven molds showed lower DDMR than the control straw. The CP recovery in the fermented straw was in the range of 3.78 to 10.39% during SSF by various molds.enDAIRY MICROBIOLOGY, DAIRYINGA STUDYThesis