Abstract
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the nutritional value of elephant-grass silages containing annato byproduct. Twenty intact rams were distributed in a complete randomized block design with five diets (0; 4; 8; 12 and 16% annato byproduct in the silage) and four replications and used to estimate the intake, apparent nutrient digestibility, content of total digestible nutrients and nitrogen balance. The addition of annato byproduct raised the intakes of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), ether extract (EE), total carbohydrates (TC), non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC) and total digestible nutrients (TDN), in body weight (%BW) and in metabolic weight (g kg-1BW0.75). The digestibilities of DM (55.95%), OM (58.19%), CP (45.34%), NDF (52.79%), ADF (45.79%), EE (34.96%) and NFC (99.86%) were not influenced by the addition of annato byproduct. The inclusion of annato byproduct in elephant-grass silage increased digestibility of total carbohydrates, the TDN content and the nitrogen balance. The aditions of annato byproduct at levels up to 16% of the elephant grass silage natural matter improves nutrient intake and nitrogen balance.
Highlights
Low availability of forage in the dry season of the year reduces the support capacity of the pasture, making it essential to establish a strategy for forage conservation and silage and hay are the forms most used (Vilela; Carneiro, 2002).Among the tropical grasses, elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.), much used in paddocks for cutting, is important as forage for silage because of its high production per area and good nutritional value
The addition of annato byproduct raised the intakes of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), ether extract (EE), total carbohydrates (TC), non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC) and total digestible nutrients (TDN), in body weight (%BW) and in metabolic weight (g kg-1BW0.75)
Several byproducts from agroindustry have been used as additives to elephant grass silage, such as orange pulp, which improved fermentation and raised the silage nutritive value (Faria et al, 1972); passion fruit byproduct that in addition to improving the fermentation process improved the intake and digestibility of the dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (Reis et al, 2000); pineapple byproduct that improved DM intake (Ferreira et al, 2009) and coffee hulls that increased the DM contents and increased the NDF, insoluble nitrogen in acid detergent (NIDA) contents in addition to reducing the DM digestibility (Bernardino et al, 2005)
Summary
Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.), much used in paddocks for cutting, is important as forage for silage because of its high production per area and good nutritional value. It presents high production and reasonable quality, according to several authors (Lavezzo, 1985; Nussio et al, 2002; Vilela; Carneiro; 2002) the excessive moisture in elephant grass at the ideal cutting time is the main limiting factor for silage, that according to Wilkinson (1983), favors low osmotic pressure, resulting in the development of bacteria of the Clostridium genus that contribute to significant losses in silage quality, reduced palatability and intake. 2,500 tons of annato (Bixa orellana L.) byproduct, after bixine (coloring) extraction, are obtained in Brazil (Souza; Faria, 2000), especially in the northeastern region where almost 97% of the residue is not used
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