Effect of replacing wheat bran with spineless cactus plus urea in sugarcane-based diets for sheep

S.E.B Lins,S.A Santos,J.L Silva,J.C.C Chagas,J.M.S Campos,T.T.B Melo,M.A Ferreira,J.A.B.A Silva,R.A Pessoa

doi:10.4314/sajas.v47i4.10

Abstract

In times of drought, the availability of feed is reduced, and the use of concentrate ingredients, such as wheat bran, becomes costly for animal production. Thus, the use of spineless cactus emerges as a potential solution to the shortage of feed and water during prolonged drought periods. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of replacing wheat bran with spineless cactus plus urea (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) in sugarcane-based diets for sheep on nutrient intake, feeding behaviour, nitrogen balance and microbial protein synthesis. Five male Santa Ines sheep with average initial bodyweight of 34.0 ± 3.6 kg were used in a 5 × 5 Latin square. The maximum intakes of dry matter (DM) (1414 g/day), organic matter (OM) (1281 g/day), crude protein (CP) (204 g/day), neutral detergent fibre corrected for ash and protein (NDFap) (425 g/day), and total digestible nutrients (TDN) (890 g/day) were estimated with replacement levels of 80.2%, 75.3%, 88.6%, 50.5%, and 79.3% respectively. Feeding behaviour was not altered by replacing wheat bran with spineless cactus plus urea. Nitrogen retention increased by 0.10 g/day, while plasmatic urea nitrogen increased by 0.20 mg/day for every 1% level of replacement. The maximum production of microbial nitrogen (15.9 g/day) and microbial protein synthesis (99.4 g/day) were estimated with replacement levels of 45.8 and 45.7%, respectively. It is concluded that up to 80% wheat bran could be replaced with spineless cactus plus urea in sugarcane-based diets for sheep. Keywords: Alternative feed, drought, feeding behaviour, intake, microbial protein

Highlights

Animal production systems in tropical regions, those in semi-arid regions, are informal and depend on native vegetation
Where: CP = crude protein NDFap = neutral detergent fibre corrected for ash and protein Ether extract (EE) = ether extract
The nutrient intake increase could be explained by the increase in the contents of the Non-fibre carbohydrates (NFC) of the diets, probably because of the better digestibility of the spineless cactus

Summary

Introduction

Animal production systems in tropical regions, those in semi-arid regions, are informal and depend on native vegetation. Ensuring the availability of alternative feeds in adequate amounts and of adequate quality is a priority to keep up with accelerated demand for growing and finishing animals, since droughts and changes in global climate affect the grain harvest and increase prices in the international market (Ben Salem & Smith, 2008). Because of its efficiency of water use (Nobel, 2001), emerges as a potential solution to the shortage of feed and water during prolonged drought. It is utilized as a feed supplement in Brazil, Chile, Morocco, Mexico, South Africa and Tunisia (Ben Salem & Smith, 2008). In Brazilian semi-arid regions, it is common to use the spineless genotypes giant (Opuntia ficus-indica meal), sweet (Nopalea cochenillifera (L.) Salm-Dyck), and Mexican elephant ear (Opuntia stricta (Haw.))

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Conclusion