&lt;b&gt;Mesquite pod meal in sheep diet: intake, apparent digestibility of nutrients and nitrogen balance

Andréia Carolina Santos de Souza,César Augusto Ramos Pereira,Edileusa De Jesus do Santos,Paulo José Presidio Almeida,Mara Lúcia Albuquerque Pereira,Jeruzia Vitória Moreira

doi:10.4025/actascianimsci.v37i1.24466

<b>Mesquite pod meal in sheep diet: intake, apparent digestibility of nutrients and nitrogen balance

Andréia Carolina Santos de Souza, César Augusto Ramos Pereira + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4025/actascianimsci.v37i1.24466

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Abstract

Eight Santa Ines sheep were assigned to two 4 x 4 Latin squares, to evaluate the effects of replacing elephant grass silage with different levels of mesquite pod meal (MDM) (15, 30 and 45% DM) on intake, apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), total carbohydrates (TC) and non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC) and the nitrogen balance. There was a linear increase (p < 0.05) in the intake of DM, OM, CP, ADF, NDF, NFC and TC according to the addition of MPM to the diet. The digestibility of DM, OM and CP increased (p < 0.05) with the addition of MDM. We observed a positive linear effect (p < 0.05) for the nitrogen intake. The addition of mesquite pod meal up to 45% increased the intake of DM, NDF, ADF, CP, OM, NFC and TC but reduced the digestibility of EE and NDF. MPM at 30 and 45% propitiated a positive nitrogen balance.

Highlights

In Brazil, an increasing number of sheep is found in the Northeast region driven by growing demand for sheep meat in the domestic market
This study evaluated the replacement of elephant grass silage (Pennisetum purpureum) with mesquite pod meal (Prosopis juliflora) on intake, digestibility and nitrogen balance
They were pre-dried in a forced ventilation oven at 60°C and processed in a knife mill with 1 mm sieve for subsequent laboratory analysis of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), mineral matter (MM), crude protein (CP) and ether extract (EE), which were determined according to the recommendations of the Association Of Official Agricultural Chemists (AOAC, 1998) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin (H2SO4 72% p/p) according to Van Soest et al (1991)

Summary

Introduction

In Brazil, an increasing number of sheep is found in the Northeast region driven by growing demand for sheep meat in the domestic market. Food consumption is highly correlated with its nutritional composition and digestibility, since the dry matter intake increases with increasing digestibility until the animal is satiated occurring for. In accordance with Minson (2012), fermentation products such as acetic and lactic acids are responsible for the reduced consumption of silage compared to other forages, for example, hay, besides factors as the physical change of the ensiled material, production of ammonia and pH reduction. Mesquite pods (Prosopis juliflora) are transformed into meal and used for animal feed, being an interesting option for sheep feeding in the dry period. This study evaluated the replacement of elephant grass silage (Pennisetum purpureum) with mesquite pod meal (Prosopis juliflora) on intake, digestibility and nitrogen balance

Material and methods

Results and discussion

Conclusion