Sun Drying of Sugarcane Press Mud as a Future Feed for Livestock

Fresh sugarcane press mud (SPM), an agricultural waste was collected from the sugar mill near Bareilly city for drying for its long term storage as a future feed in the livestock ration. Drying experiment was done by spreading 1ʺ (T1) and 2ʺ (T2) thickness under the sun and 2 times (M2) and 4 times (M4) mulching were performed under each thickness. Under sun drying, significant (P<0.05) difference was recorded between two times and four times mulching under a particular thickness group for various labour cost (man min.) parameters. Overall mean of labour attributes were significantly higher in T2 than T1 under sun drying. From the experiment it was clear that the thickness had profound effect drying under sun drying. While different mulching under each thickness were not differed greatly except few parameters. It can be concluded that lower thickness (1ʺ) with less time mulching (2 times/day) can effectively dry the SPM in a short time with less labour requirement.