Nutritive value of indian dwarf wheat ears as feed

Interest in growing ancient wheat species and studying the possibility of their use as raw material for feed preparation has increased recently. Indian dwarf wheat (Triticum sphaerococcum Percival) is one of the promising grain crops. The aim of the study was to determine the nutritive value of ears of Indian dwarf wheat in different phases of ripeness for use as raw material in the production of feed in comparison with soft wheat and to determine the rational time frame of their harvesting for feed preparation. Harvesting was carried out by combing without threshing and separation of grain heap in different phases of maturity. The feed was prepared from the grain heap. Chemical analyses of feed samples were performed according to standard methods. The mid-wax ripeness phase is the optimum harvesting time of Indian dwarf wheat for preparation of feed from its ears. Its ears in this phase contain maximum essential amino acids and minimum cellulose. Feed prepared from ears of Indian dwarf wheat has a better quality than feed from soft wheat, as it contains 1.06–2.23 % more of the sum of essential amino acids and 1–5 % more of individual amino acids. This allows the crop to be used in feed preparation to improve protein quality. But its 4–10 % more higher cellulose content than feed from soft wheat is a disadvantage. Grain heap (ears) of Indian dwarf wheat, harvested without threshing in the phase of early wax and mid-wax ripeness, can be a source of increasing the nutritive value of feeds, as it contains more essential amino acids than soft wheat.