Abstract
ABSTRACT The trial was conducted with the objective to evaluate fresh sugarcane as a replacement for corn silage on dry matter intake, ruminal parameters (pH, short chain fatty acids, and ammonia nitrogen concentration), and degradation kinetics of forages and concentrate in maintenance adult goats. Four nonlactating ruminally cannulated goats were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design with the replacement of 0, 33, 67, and 100% of corn silage by sugarcane as the independent variable. The substitution of sugarcane for corn silage did not affect dry matter intake, daily weight gain, or ruminal pH. A quadratic effect was observed for ammonia nitrogen concentration with a maximum concentration at 74.43% of sugarcane inclusion, as well as for short chain fatty acids, with maximum concentrations of acetate and butyrate at 0.59 and 32.70% of sugarcane inclusion, respectively. The minimum concentration of propionate was verified on 10.36% of sugarcane inclusion. However, the acetate:propionate ratio linearly decreased with increased sugarcane content. No effect was observed of different rumen environments on forage dry matter and neutral detergent fiber degradability (effective and potential degradability, soluble and potential degradable fractions). Dry matter degradability was 66.79% for sugarcane and 72.62% for corn silage after 96 h of incubation. Neutral detergent fiber was 37.10 and 51.82% for sugarcane and corn silage, respectively, after 96 h of incubation. In conclusion, sugarcane can be used as a replacement for corn silage in maintenance adult goats feed without altering dry matter intake and forage degradability while increasing propionate production.
Highlights
The inclusion of sugarcane in ruminant feed, especially for low production animals, as an available source in a critical period of food scarcity allows for the reduction or replacement of conserved forages, such as silage and hay that have a high costs of production, and are not always accessible for small producers.Sugarcane can be considered a strategic forage to be used in ruminant feeding because of its high sugar content and forage production per area
The present trial was designed with the objective to evaluate the effects of replacing 0, 33, 67, and 100% of corn silage with fresh sugarcane on dry matter intake, ruminal fermentation parameters, and in situ rumen degradability in maintenance adult goats
The experimental design was a 4 × 4 Latin square used to evaluate the effect of four diets structured by the replacement by fresh chopped sugarcane for corn silage, on a dry matter basis, in proportions of 0, 33, 67, and 100% as follows: Treatment 0 (0% sugarcane, 100% corn silage); Treatment 33 (33% sugarcane, 67% corn silage); Treatment 67 (67% sugarcane, 33% corn silage); and Treatment 100 (100% sugarcane, 0% corn silage)
Summary
The inclusion of sugarcane in ruminant feed, especially for low production animals, as an available source in a critical period of food scarcity allows for the reduction or replacement of conserved forages, such as silage and hay that have a high costs of production, and are not always accessible for small producers. Sugarcane can be considered a strategic forage to be used in ruminant feeding because of its high sugar content and forage production per area. Forage feeds consumed by ruminants, such as sugarcane, undergo physical and chemical modifications, generating nutritive compounds, which are products of ruminal fermentation. The present trial was designed with the objective to evaluate the effects of replacing 0, 33, 67, and 100% of corn silage with fresh sugarcane on dry matter intake, ruminal fermentation parameters, and in situ rumen degradability in maintenance adult goats
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