Performance of Crossbred Cattle Fed Chopped Green Sugarcane Tops and Supplemented with Wheat Bran or Lentil Chuni Concentrates

M K Gendley,P Singh,A K Garg

doi:10.5713/ajas.2002.1422

Abstract

Fifteen crossbred cattle bulls of about 22-24 months age (mean body weight ranged from 291.0 to 298.1 kg) were randomly divided into 3 groups of 5 animals following randomized block design. Animals in group 1 were fed concentrate mixture containing wheat bran 97%, mineral mixture 2% and salt 1% plus ad libitum chopped green sugarcane tops (SCT) as a roughage source. Animals in group 2 were fed concentrate mixture containing lentil chuni 97%, mineral mixture 2% and salt 1% while group 3 concentrate contained wheat bran 48.5%, lentil chuni 48.5%, mineral mixture 2% and salt 1% plus ad libitum chopped green SCT to meet their maintenance requirements. During metabolism trial period, the mean total intake and digestibility of DM in groups 1, 2 and 3 was 8.09±0.41, 8.41±0.49 and 7.86±0.16 kg/d and 60.24, 63.24 and 65.05%, respectively. The intake of CP (p<0.05) and EE (p<0.01) was significantly higher in group 2 and group 1, respectively as compared to remaining 2 groups, which were comparable. Digestibility of CP and EE was significantly (p<0.01) higher in group 3 and that of CP was comparable with group 2. The intake and digestibility of total carbohydrates, NDF, ADF, Hemi-cellulose and cellulose were similar among 3 groups. The mean body weight changes in group 1, 2 and 3 were 173.4, 253.4 and 203.4 g/d, respectively, which was significantly (p<0.05) higher in group 2. The total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) intakes were significantly higher in group 2 and group 1, respectively. The total volatile fatty acids, ammonia-N, trichloro-acetic acid precipitable nitrogen (TCA ppt.-N; p<0.05), total-N concentrations and pH were significantly (p<0.01) higher in group 3, however, pH and TCA ppt.-N was comparable with group 2 and 1, respectively. From the results, it may be deduced that the feeding of chopped green SCT supplemented with a concentrate mixture having both wheat bran (48.5%) and lentil chuni (48.5%) has shown a better performance with respect to intake and digestibility of nutrients and growth as well. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2002. Vol 15, No. 10 : 1422-1427)

Highlights

To mitigate the shortage of feeds and fodders and to make animal production viable and profitable, attempts have been made on improvement and utilization of various poor quality crop residues and non-conventional feeds and fodders
Intake was estimated by weighing the amount of concentrate and green chopped sugarcane tops offered and residues left by each animal
Animals of remaining two groups were fed concentrate mixture (%) containing 97 lentil chuni and 48.5 wheat bran, 48.5 lentil chuni; mineral mixture and salt as in group 1 plus ad libitum chopped green sugarcane tops (SCT) to meet out the nutrient requirements (NRC, 1989)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

To mitigate the shortage of feeds and fodders and to make animal production viable and profitable, attempts have been made on improvement and utilization of various poor quality crop residues and non-conventional feeds and fodders. Received February 1, 2002; Accepted April 30, 2002 tops are being utilized partially as animal feed owing to lower in protein content (Kutty and Prasad, 1980), lower level digestibility of nutrients (Patil et al, 1999) and poor minerals content (Joshi et al, 1995). It can effectively be used as a source of roughage in the diet of ruminants after supplementation with protein and mineral supplements. Present study was conducted to assess the performance of crossbred cattle fed on ad lib chopped green SCT supplemented with wheat bran or lentil chuni and both

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Analytical methods

AND DISCUSSION