Abstract
This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of pineapple stem by-product silage as a feed source in total replacement of Napier or corn silages on growth performance, feed intake and feed efficiency, ruminal fermentation, carcass characteristics and meat quality of Holstein crossbred steers. Forty-eight steers with an average age of 18 months (448.6 ± 51.5 kg) were randomly allocated to three groups (one diet per group) in a completely randomized design. Steers were fed total mixed ration (TMR) containing a roughage-to-concentrate ratio of 20 : 80. The TMR diets contained Napier grass silage (nTMR), whole corn silage (cTMR) or pineapple stem silage (pTMR) and were offered ad libitum for six months. The results revealed that pTMR and cTMR diets resulted in a significantly higher weight gain than nTMR. These results were observed because pTMR and cTMR diets provided more N-free extract (NFE) total digestible nutrients (TDN) than nTMR diet, and the feed conversion efficiencies for pTMR and cTMR diets were higher than those of nTMR. Ruminal pH, ammonia-nitrogen and volatile fatty acid concentrations were not significantly different among dietary treatments. The carcass characteristics of steers fed cTMR and pTMR diets included significantly larger rib eye areas than steers fed nTMR, whereas meat quality was not affected by treatment. Additionally, the current research showed that pTMR diet provided the lowest feed cost per gain. The results suggest that pineapple stem by-product could be regarded as a potential feed source for reducing costs in cattle feedlots. Keywords: Carcass characteristics, dairy steers; feedlot; industrial waste; total mixed ration
Highlights
Holstein steers provide an opportunity for farmers to increase their income by producing beef via feedlots
The steers were randomly allocated to three total mixed ration (TMR) diets within a completely randomized design, and they were offered the diets ad libitum for six months
Holstein crossbred steers did not differ in their initial weight (Table 2)
Summary
Holstein steers provide an opportunity for farmers to increase their income by producing beef via feedlots. Feeding strategies of large feedlots and smaller farm-feeders include feeding cattle high-quality forage crops and concentrate to rapidly achieve slaughter weight through supplementation (National Centre for Appropriate Technology, 2010). Corn silage is an excellent source of energy and fibre. These forages can be used to increase the nutritional composition of the diet and the growth performance for fattening steers (Ishida et al, 2012), but they have a high cost during the dry season. By-products of pineapple processing consist of residual pulp, peels, stem and skin, and account for a large proportion (70% - 75% w/w) of the crop (Suksathit et al, 2011). Dried and ensiled pineapple waste can be used as supplemental roughage and could replace 50% roughage in the TMR for dairy cattle (Sruamisri, 2007)
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