Effect of processing of palm oil petiole on palatability in Bali cows (Bos sondaecus)

Abstract

Palm oil petiole (POP) is a pruning by-product from palm oil plantations. POP is the stalk of the palm oil frond (POF) without the leaflets and the outer layer. By weight, it contributed about 30 percent of POF. POP was a possible alternative for POF in feeding Bali cows (Bos sondaecus) since Bali cows we observed to reject fresh POF. Central Bureau of Indonesian Statistics (2006) reported that the production of POF was around 10,869,365 t from around 3,682,900 ha of palm oil plantation in Indonesia which is equivalent to 3,260,810 t of POP. POF are successfully used as feed for Bos taurus and Bos indicus and there are a lot of studies being done, especially in Malaysia. Alimon and Hair Bejo (1995) reported that the chemical composition of POF is 47, 385, 787, 556 g kg-1 and 5.65 MJ kg-1 for crude protein (CP), crude fibre, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and metabolisable energy respectively. However, there is no information on the nutritive value of POP and its palatability in Bali cows. The aims of this study were to evaluate the nutritive value of POP, and palatability of POP types by Bali cows when processed in several forms.