Local By-products Research Articles

Effects of feeding ensiled date palm fronds and a by-product concentrate on performance and meat quality of Omani sheep

A study was carried out to investigate the potential use of date palm by-products for feeding Omani local sheep. Thirty-two Omani sheep were fed for 120 days one of four ration combinations of two roughages and two concentrates. The roughages were urea treated palm frond (UTPF) and Rhodes grass hay (RGH). The concentrates were a pelleted commercial cubes (CC) and a concentrate made from local by-products (BC). Experimental measurements included daily feed intakes, bi-weekly body weights, hematological values, apparent digestibility, and carcass and meat quality characteristics. The BC was formulated from 250 ground date fronds, 250 wheat bran, 200 ground Prosopis juliflora pods, 150 barley grain and 120 g/kg dried sardines plus vitamin and mineral additives. The UTPF silage was prepared by ensiling shredded palm fronds in a 30 g/l urea solution for 5 weeks. On dry matter (DM) basis, the BC and CC concentrates contained 179 and 180 g/kg crude protein (CP); 241 and 56 g/kg acid detergent fiber (ADF); 379 and 182 g/kg neutral detergent fiber (NDF); 118 and 73 g/kg ash; 17.9 and 18.3 kJ/g DM gross energy (GE), respectively. The UTPF and RGH contained 85 and 100 g/kg CP; 580 and 370 g/kg ADF; 740 and 614 g/kg NDF; 120 and 95 g/kg ash; 19.2 and 17.3 kJ/g DM GE, respectively. Experimental animals fed the date palm by-products were in good health throughout the trial. In absolute terms, sheep fed the UTPF had lower feed intakes than those fed the RGH but feed intake/body weight (BW) was similar across diet groups (30 g/kg). By-products fed sheep gained less (P<0.05) weight than those fed RGH and CC. The average daily gain was 80, 56, 32 and 10 g/d for the CC + RGH, BC + RGH, CC + UTPF and BC + UTPF, respectively. Feed conversion (kg feed/kg BW gain) was lower for UTPF and BC feeds. Apparent digestibility coefficients for DM, CP, ADF, NDF, ash and DE were lower for UTPF and BC based diets. Feeding UTPF and BC reduced carcass weight, dressing, fat content and carcass measurements. However, feeding CC with UTPF improved sheep performance compared to BC + UTPF. There were no effects of feeding UTPF or BC on meat quality. This experiment indicated that date palm by-products might be used for feeding Omani sheep for maintenance or during times of nutritional shortage frequently experienced in the arid tropics.

Fermentor production of pectinases on gruel, a local by-product and their use in olive oil extraction

The CT1 mutant is a hyperproducer of pectinases isolated from Penicillium occitanis. It highly secretes pectinases on citrus pectin as well as on orange peel. Production in fermentor was carried out on another local by-product of wheat manufactories, the gruel. This substrate, poor in pectic substances, showed the highest capacity to induce pectinases, strengthening the fact that our mutant is a constitutive one. Yield and productivity are much higher on gruel in comparison with citrus pectin and orange peel. The extracellular juice of CT1 gruel fermentation was then applied in the process of olive oil extraction. An improvement of 10% on the oil yield was obtained at an industrial scale.

The use of a concentrate containing Meskit ( Prosopis juliflora) pods and date palm by-products to replace commercial concentrate in diets of Omani sheep

A feeding trial using twenty-four ten-month old Omani native male sheep (BW 31.4 ± 1.10 kg) was carried out to evaluate the use of a local by-product based concentrate to replace a commercial concentrate. Sheep were divided into three groups of eight animals each. One group was fed a concentrate pelleted feed made mainly from local by-products including Prosopis pods, wheat bran, date syrup and date fiber. The other two groups were fed either a commercial concentrate or a 50:50 mixture of local and commercial concentrate. All groups were fed Rhodes grass hay ad lib. The animals that were fed the local by-product concentrate had the same amount of feed intake, grew at the same rate and had similar feed conversion ratio (13 kg feed/kg body weight) as those fed the other two concentrate rations. There was no effect of diet on haematological parameters or carcass composition. This experiment indicated that local feed resources could be used in manufacturing animal feeds to reduce feed cost without compromising animal performance. This also offers an environmental-friendly way of utilizing agricultural waste by-products.

MACRONUTRIENTS CONTENT IN SISAL AND PIG MANURE SUBSTRATES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON DEVELOPMENT OF PAPAYA SEEDLINGS IN NURSERY

Substrates used in commercial seedling production are made from peat moss and pine bark; however, in different agricultural regions substrates are obtained from local by-products. Chemical analysis of mineral content and availability in organic substrates has been difficult. There are no standardized methods of analysis and methodologies used in the analysis as mineral soils analysis are used, resulting in imprecise data and erroneous interpretation. In this study, mixtures of three kinds of substrates: hog manure, sisal pulp and soil, were used as substrate to obtain papaya seedlings. The objectives were: to analyze the content of macronutrients using three chemical methods: total contents, water soluble elements, and those extractable by chemical agents; with these a ratio between concentration and availability was obtained and to determine the best mixture of sisal pulp, hog manure and Rodic Luvisol soil for use as substrate for the development of papaya seedlings in nursery. A better relationship resulted when K was analyzed with the soluble method; P and Mg by the three methods, and Ca did not have a positive relationship with any of the methods. Total N results were used to obtain the C:N ratio, which had an inverse relationship with biomass production. The best mixtures for seedling production were all those containing 25 to 100 percent hog manure.

Study and Identification of Retention Process of Heavy Metals by Adsorption on Agricultural Byproducts

AbstractThis present study considers the adsorption of cations of heavy metals (zinc, cadmium, copper) which are frequently encountered in industrial wastewaters. The solid material used as adsorbent is nonactivated carbon obtained from a local cereal byproduct. In order to assess this material, adsorbents obtained from other agricultural byproducts, such as almond and peanuts shells, have also been tested. Adsorption isotherms have been determined and the influence of various parameters, such as the particle size, the solid‐liquid contacting time, the pH of the solution, the initial concentration, the mixing velocity, the temperature and the ratio solid mass over solution volume, have been considered. The case of simultaneous presence of metallic cations in the solution has also been considered in order to examine their affinity towards the adsorbent. An attempt to determine whether the retention of the cations is a pure adsorption or an ion exchange has also been carried out. Retention yield values exceeding 90 % have been reached with an initial concentration of 10 mg/L, a temperature of 20 °C, a particle size smaller than 0.1 mm, a mixing velocity of 600 rev/min, a ratio of 0.5 g adsorbent over 50 ml of solution and a pH varying between 3 and 6.

New Agglomerated Feed or Food Products Based on Wheat Bran

Paper presented the trials and conditions of multicomponent mixture preparation on the basis of the wheat bran what may be an interesting technology to be introduced in the small milling plants. The test included the addition of high-protein plant components, some mineral ingredients and vegetable oil. The trials of pelleting of prepared mixtures were conducted and the strength properties of obtained pellets were examined. The results confirm the possibilities of quite extended application of the bran, as a thinner and as a basic component of the mixtures with the use of local by-products from food processing industry.

Evaluation of compost and straw mulching on soil-loss characteristics in erosion plots of potatoes in Prince Edward Island, Canada

The intensive use of Prince Edward Island (PEI) farmland for potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) production draws concern because of soil physical degradation under the intense tillage and other heavy traffic associated with the mechanisation of this crop, and the resulting vulnerability of sloping fields to hydraulic erosion. Growing public consciousness and pressure in favour of sustainable agriculture have engendered farmer interest in a possible place for commercial farm by-products in commercial cropping. Using existing natural erosion plots in PEI, the effects of compost amendment and straw mulching were assessed in terms of soil loss and soil physical condition on a fine sandy loam (Orthic Podzol). The treatment materials are local by-products of potato farming systems, and were used for an insight into the likelihood of sustainable commercial use. Compost had no effect on soil loss. Mulching reduced soil loss by almost 50%. Both treatments increased soil water content by 6–7%. Among the treatment effects on soil physical characteristics, soil penetration resistance below the root zone was reduced almost 20%; and, in the third year of the study, soil aggregate stability increased 7% with compost. Shear strength showed a strong ( p≤0.05) regression relationship ( R 2=0.835) with bulk density.

Feedlot Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Local and Cross-bred (Local X Chios) F1sheep fed on By-products-based Diet

Abstract El, Hag, M.G. and Al-Shargi, K.M. 1995. Feedlot performance and carcass characteristics of local and cross-bred (local X Chios) sheep fed on by products-based diet. J. Appl. Anim. Res: 8: 197–202. Feedlot performance and carcass characteristics of growing local and cross-bred (local X Chios) sheep were studied using a by product based (BP) diet and a commercial concentrate diet (General ruminant, 14% CP), produced by Oman Flow Mill. The BP diet was based on 33% Date leaves + Rachis: 15% Date syrup by-product (DSBP) and 12% fish sardine (60% local by-products). BP diet was more fibrous (17.5% CF) than the concentrate diet (7.8% CF). In general feed intake as well as feed efficiency from both BP and concentrate diets were similar. Cross-bred sheep gained significantly (P 0.05) between diets for daily gain. Dressing percent of empty body weight and longissimus dorsi area was unaffected by both diets or breeds. BP diet was che...

Effect of dietary energy concentration, protein:energy and lysine:energy ratios on growth of pigs in the humid tropics

Forty-eight Landrace x Large White x Duroc pigs were used in each of two experiments to study the effect of diets with different protein and 1ysine:energy ratios on growth between 20 and 50 kg and on growth, and subsequent carcass characteristics, between 40 and 85 kg. The eight treatments in each experiment comprised a 2x4 factorial design. The factors were digestible energy (DE) of 12.6 and 14.2 MJ/kg diet and four crude protein and lysine levels at each dietary energy level. The diets were based on combinations of traditional feed ingredients and local agricultural byproducts. Daily feed allowance (g) was calculated in both experiments by the formula: 110 Wkg.0.75, where W is liveweight. Pigs given high-energy diets grew faster, with a better feed conversion ratio, than those given the low-energy diets. In both experiments, growth rate of pigs was faster and feed conversion efficiency improved linearly (P&lt;0.05) with increasing protein:energy ratio. Mean feed and DE intakes were the same on all treatments within an experiment. For pigs at 85 kg, killing-out percentage declined with increasing protein : energy ratio. Eye muscle area increased and back-fat thickness decreased as the protein and lysine contents of the diets increased. It appears that a protein (g):energy (MJ DE) ratio of about 15.1 for growing pigs, and 12.7 for finishing pigs, optimises performance. Corresponding total lysine (g): energy (MJ DE) ratios were 0.7 1-0.77 and 0.63-0.64, respectively.

Nitrogen utilization of growing-finishing Barbados Blackbelly lambs

SummaryTwelve 6–8 months old male Barbados Blackbelly lambs were used in a 4 × 4 latin square experiment with three replicates to study the utilization of diets made from local by-products and containing 64, 93, 125 or 143 g crude protein/kgD. M.Both dry-matter (mean 750·1 g/day) and digestible-energy (mean 6·2 MJ DE/day) intakes, and their digestibility coefficients increased, though not significantly, with increasing dietary protein concentration. However, nitrogen digestibility, urinary-nitrogen output and nitrogen retention all increased significantly (P&lt; 0·01) with increasing dietary protein concentration.Metabolic faecal nitrogen and endogenous urinary nitrogen derived from the intercept of significant regressions of nitrogen intake against urine and faecal nitrogen outputs were 5·07 g/kg dry matter eaten and 3·46 g/day (0·35 kg W0·75) respectively. The diets had a mean biological value of 73·6%. The digestible crude protein requirements for maintenance were (g/day) 29·0, 38·4 and 26·6 when estimated from nitrogen retention, factorially and from live-weight performance respectively.