Azolla (Azolla microphylla) Supplementation Improves Nutrient Utilization in Lactating Murrah Buffaloes

Abstract

Balanced feeding of dairy animals is a costly affair in developing countries due to a lack of sufficient resources. A feeding cum digestion trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of dried green Azolla (Azolla microphylla) incorporation in lactating Murrah buffalo’s diet. Multiparous Murrah buffaloes (n = 10) with an average of 30 d in milk and yielding 11.29 kg/d were distributed randomly into two equal groups. The control group of buffaloes was fed a concentrated mixture prepared with commonly available feed ingredients – including maize grain, wheat bran, cottonseed cake, groundnut cake, mustard cake, mineral mixture, and salt – whereas the concentrate mixture of the treatment group was prepared, including 10% of the dried Azolla, by keeping both the concentrate mixtures iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric. After 3 wk of preliminary feeding, a digestion trial was conducted for the assessment of nutrient utilization in two groups. Results indicated a positive response on the digestibility of dry matter (P < 0.05), organic matter (P < 0.05), neutral detergent fiber (P = 0.01), and acid detergent fiber (P = 0.015), whereas the digestibility of crude protein and ether extract remained unaffected (P > 0.05). Improvement in the digestibility of different nutrients without influencing the intake of nutrients indicated the importance of dried Azolla in the ration of lactating Murrah buffaloes.