Radiation degradation of cellulose

The application of straw and other cellulose polymers as feedstuff for ruminants is limited by its low digestibility. During recent decades it was attempted to increase the digestibility of straw by several chemical and physical methods. In this work some results of the degradation of gamma and electron treated wheat straw are reported. Complex methods of treatment are taken into consideration. In vitro-experiments with radiation treated straw show that the digestibility can be increased from 20% up to about 80%. A high pressure liquid chromatography method was used to analyze the hydrolysates. The contents of certain species of carbohydrates in the hydrolysates in dependence on the applied dose are given. (author)