Replacement of wheat bran with spineless cactus in sugarcane-based diets for steers

Maria Gabriela Da Conceição,Leonardo José Assis De Barros,Edenio Detmann,Cleber Thiago Ferreira Costa,Janaina De Lima Silva,José Maurício De Souza Campos,Marcelo De Andrade Ferreira,Michelle Christina Bernardo De Siqueira

doi:10.1590/s1806-92902016000400003

Abstract

The effect of replacing wheat bran with spineless cactus (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) in sugar cane-based diets on the intake of nutrients, feeding behavior, and rumen digestibility of steers was assessed using digested samples collected from the omasum. Five crossbred steers (1/2 Holstein-Zebu) were fitted with cannulas in the rumen and then assigned to a 5 × 5 Latin square design. Samples of omasal digesta were collected for three days. Rumen was evacuated via the rumen cannula to determine the rumen pool of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), indigestible NDF (iNDF), intake (ki), passage (kp) and degradation (NDF) rates, and the passage of iNDF (kpi). Nutrient intake displayed a quadratic effect, with maximum intakes of DM (5.73 kg d−1), non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC, 4.63 kg d−1), and digestible organic matter (DOM, 3.45 kg d−1) estimated at the replacement levels of 54.63, 60.00, and 43.17%, respectively. The replacement levels showed no effect on feeding, rumination, or idle times. There was a linear increase in the total apparent and ruminal digestibility of CP as the spineless cactus content in the diet was increased. There was no effect on total and partial digestibilities of OM and NDF or on intestinal digestibility of CP. No effect was observed on the rumen pool of DM, NDF, or iNDF. Furthermore, ki, kp, NDF degradation, and iNDF passage rates displayed a quadratic effect, with higher concentrations estimated for replacement levels of 56.07, 56.12, 59.00, and 55.20%, respectively. Replacing 55% wheat bran with spineless cactus in sugar cane-based diets is recommended.

Highlights

The semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil is characterized by frequent droughts, an average annual rainfall lower than 800 mm, high temperatures, and a Caatinga biome (SUDENE, 2011)
Rumen was evacuated via the rumen cannula to determine the rumen pool of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), indigestible NDF, intake, passage and degradation (NDF) rates, and the passage of iNDF
Replacing 55% wheat bran with spineless cactus in sugar cane-based diets is recommended

Summary

Introduction

The semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil is characterized by frequent droughts, an average annual rainfall lower than 800 mm, high temperatures (average 27 °C), and a Caatinga biome (SUDENE, 2011). The animal production in this region is impaired during severe droughts when there is a reduction of forage resources, requiring the supply of concentrate feed, increasing the cost of production systems. Being a feed rich in insoluble fiber (Esposito et al, 2005), its use at high concentrations could interfere with voluntary intake (Mariz et al, 2013) as a result of an increased retention in the rumen and lower passage rates. The exclusive use of wheat bran tends to raise feed costs, since it is imported from large commercial centers

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