Studies were carried out for 21 days in a solid state fermentation to investigate changes in the chemical composition, mineral content and in vitro digestibility of melon husk degraded with two species of white-rot fungi (Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus pulmonarius). The result obtained showed an increase in the crude protein (CP) from 4.81% for the control to 7.41% for Pleurotus ostreatus treated melon husk (POB) and 9.73% for Pleurotus pulmonarius treated melon husk(PPB). However, the crude fibre (CF) decreased significantly (p0.05) between the control and PPB, but differed significantly from POB. Faster rates of gas production were obtained in the fungal treated substrates. These results suggest that fungal treatment of agricultural wastes enhances nutrient value and digestibility and thus can be used in combination with other feedstuffs to feed ruminants.
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