Effects of addition of Lotus corniculatu into rice straw on methane emission in vitro

A singlefactor randomized design was used to estimate the methane emission of addition of Lotus corniculatus (LC) into rice straw (RS) in vitro fermentation after 48 h by using the ratio of RS to LC with 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100% (LC0, LC10, LC20, LC30, LC40, LC50, LC60, LC70, LC80, LC90 and LC100).The results of this study showed the pH value was 6.64 to 6.99, and the NH3N was 2.98 to 28.74 mgdL-1, and the methane emission was 0.038 to 1.313 mmol for various groups during 3-36 h. The methane emission before 24 h increased as the LC proportion increased in the mixed fermentations substrates, but it was different among groups. However, the methane emission decreased with the increase of LC proportion from 24 to 48 h and it was significantly different among groups (P0.05). This study suggested that RS basic diet supplemented with LC could reduce the methane emission in vitro batch incubation system.