Abstract
The study aimed to evaluat the chemical composition of forage cactus cladodes of the genus Opuntia spp. at different stages of phenological development. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design, with a 4×3 factorial scheme, with four species of cactus (Opuntia stricta Haw, Opuntia undulata Griffiths, Opuntia atropes Rose and Opuntia larreri FAC Weber) and three stages of cladode development (young, intermediate, and mature). The chemical composition of Opuntia cladodes varied according to species and phenological stage. Dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) concentrations increased, and crude protein (CP) decreased with cladode maturation. The species O. atropes had the lowest levels of organic matter (OM), CP, total carbohydrates, and non-fibrous carbohydrates, as well as the highest values of mineral matter, NDF and ADF. Calcium and phosphorus contents increased with cladodium maturation. The concentrations of boron, copper and manganese were higher in the young and intermediate stages. The cladodes of O. stricta, O. undulata and O. larreri showed better nutritional quality for feeding domestic ruminants. Young and intermediate cladodes are more proteinaceous and less fibrous. These results can be useful in selecting the forage cactus species and in optimizing the use of cladodes for feeding different categories of ruminants in semiarid regions.
Highlights
The lack of forage for animal feeding during the dry season is one of the main difficulties faced by domestic ruminant breeders in the Brazilian semiarid region
The species O. atropes had the lowest levels of organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), total carbohydrates, and non-fibrous carbohydrates, as well as the highest values of mineral matter, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF)
This barrier has been circumvented by the use of succulent stems of Cactaceae of the genera Opuntia and Nopalea, commonly called “forage cactus”, as a source of water and energy to supplement herds in the dry season (Oliveira et al, 2021)
Summary
The lack of forage for animal feeding during the dry season is one of the main difficulties faced by domestic ruminant breeders in the Brazilian semiarid region. This barrier has been circumvented by the use of succulent stems (cladodes) of Cactaceae of the genera Opuntia and Nopalea, commonly called “forage cactus”, as a source of water and energy to supplement herds in the dry season (Oliveira et al, 2021). Cladodes have a high concentration of non-fibrous carbohydrates (585.5 g.kg-1 of DM) and total digestible nutrients (800.0 g.kg-1 DM) (Silva & Sampaio, 2015). The contents of CP (41.0 - 63.0 g.kg-1 DM), NDF (243.0 - 302.0 g.kg-1 DM) and ADF (105.0 - 178.0 g.kg-1 DM) show some limitations to ruminants feeding, an adequate balance of the diet with the addition of fiber and protein can overcome this disadvantage (Moraes et al, 2019; Silva et al, 2019; Siqueira et al, 2018)
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