Levels Of Whole Cottonseed Research Articles

Whole Linted Cottonseed as a Forage Substitute Fed with Ground or Steam-flaked Corn: Digestibility and Performance ,

Six ruminally and duodenally cannulated Holstein cows were used in a 6×6 Latin square design. The objective was to evaluate any potential interactions in site of nutrient digestion when neutral detergent fiber (NDF) from cottonseed was incrementally substituted for forage NDF (FNDF) from alfalfa silage and when starch availability was varied by feeding ground (G) or steam-flaked (SF) corn. Iso-NDF diets were forage control with G corn (21% FNDF), 5% whole cottonseed (WCS) with G or SF corn (18% FNDF), 10% WCS with G or SF corn (15% FNDF), and 15% WCS with G corn (12% FNDF). Ruminal or total tract digestibilities of organic matter (OM) or nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) were unaffected, but efficiency of microbial protein synthesis decreased as WCS increased. Ruminal NDF digestibility was not affected despite a linear decrease in pH, but postruminal NDF digestibility decreased with increasing WCS. Ruminal digestibilities of OM and NSC were higher for SF than G corn but did not affect efficiency of microbial N synthesis. Dry matter intake increased quadratically with increasing level of WCS but decreased when SF replaced G corn. Milk yield did not differ across treatments. Milk fat percentage was affected quadratically and milk protein increased linearly with increasing WCS. Milk fat percentage decreased but milk protein was not affected when SF replaced G corn. Lack of an interaction between corn source and level of WCS substitution suggests that WCS was equally effective in maintaining ruminal fermentation and digestibility in diets varying in ruminal starch availability.

Effect of level of whole cottonseed on intake, digestibility, and performance of growing male goats fed hay-based diets.

Twenty-four purebred Boer (Capra hircus hircus) and 12 male kids of 1/2 Boer breeding (initial BW 21 +/- .5 kg) were used in a randomized complete block design to study the effects of increasing level of whole cottonseed (WCS) on ADG, serum urea N, plasma gossypol, live grades, and intake of DM, CP, NDF, ADF, hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, ether extract, and free gossypol. A subgroup of 16 purebred goats was used to determine digestibility using a 5-d total fecal collection. Goats were blocked by BW and then assigned at random to one of four diets containing 0, 8, 16, or 24% WCS. All diets contained 71% chopped orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) hay and 29% concentrate; WCS replaced corn and soybean meal to maintain calculated TDN and CP concentrations at 68 and 15% of DM, respectively. Concentrations of NDF in diet DM were 52.4, 55.9, 59.3, and 62.1% with increasing WCS, and the Ca:P ratio was maintained at 2:0. Goats were given ad libitum access to feed and water. Over the 90-d performance phase, DMI (P < .05), CP intake (P < .02), and ADG (P < .01) decreased linearly with increasing WCS in the diet, whereas ether extract (EE) intake increased in a cubic fashion (P < .01). Gain:feed decreased linearly (P < .02) with increasing level of WCS. Addition of WCS resulted in linear decreases in apparent digestibility coefficients of DM (P < .02) and NDF (P < .05), a linear increase in total plasma gossypol (P < .01), and a quadratic increase in serum urea N (P < .04). Apparent digestibility of CP was not affected by WCS level. At the 16 and 24% WCS levels, EE constituted 4.2 and 4.8% of total DMI, respectively. Adding WCS to diets for growing goats had detrimental effects on animal performance, and, based on the possible negative effects of dietary EE and NDF rather than gossypol, economics should dictate whether to use WCS in feeding programs.

A note on the apparent digestibility and nutritive value of whole cottonseed given to sheep

Four castrated crossbred (Karagouniki♂ × Friesian♀) rams were used in a 4 × 4 Latin-square design to determine the apparent digestibility of four diets based on alfalfa hay and maize grain and containing varying proportions of whole cottonseed (WCS). The proportions of WCS studied were 0, 175, 355 and 530 g/kg diet dry matter (DM) and the respective apparent digestibility coefficients of DM were 0·744, 0·716, 0·689 and 0·625; of organic matter, 0·772, 0·739, 0·718 and 0·643; and of neutral-detergent fibre (NDF), 0·409, 0·481, 0·522 and 0·472. The gross energy (GE) apparent digestibility coefficients were 0·745, 0·722, 0·704 and 0·641, for the same order of treatments. The effect of the incorporation of WCS instead of maize grain in the diet in significantly reducing DM, OM and GE digestibility was evident. The lowest digestible energy value of WCS was observed in the treatment with the highest level of WCS.

The value of whole cottonseed in a wheat-based maintenance ration for sheep

The effects of fuzzy whole cottonseed (WCS) on the performance and health of sheep were examined. Thirty 2-year-old Merino wethers were divided into 3 equal groups and offered maintenance rations for 138 days, with whole wheat grain to WCS ratios of 100:O (diet A), 75:25 (B) and 50:50 (C). Liveweight changes for diets A, B and C were -0.3, +4.4 and +3.0 kg respectively, and were significantly (P&lt;0.05) greater on WCS diets. Wool growth rates were also significantly (P&lt; 0.01) improved by the addition of WCS, with treatment means being 0.65 (diet A), 0.82 (B) and 0.88 mg/cm2.day (C). Digestibility of DM in diet C (677 g/kg) was significantly (P&lt; 0.001) lower than in diets A (782) and B (777 g/kg), perhaps because of increased fibre and oil in the ration. Subclinical anaemia and muscle damage were evident in animals given WCS by days 43 and 127 respectively. Post mortems and histological examination revealed renal haemosiderosis in sheep given WCS, with increased severity at 50% inclusion in the ration. Despite the reduction in digestibility and the subclinical effects on health, at least 25% WCS can be safely included in a wheat-based maintenance ration for wethers and this ration has production advantages over wheat alone. Caution is advised in feeding higher levels of WCS or feeding such a ration for more than 5 months.