Effects of enzyme levels in total mixed ration containing oil palm frond silage on intake, rumen fermentation, and growth performance of male goat

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of supplementing the total mixed ration (TMR) containing oil palmfrond (OPF) silage with different levels of enzyme on feed intake and growth performance of goat. Twenty four post-weaningBoer  Thai Native crossbred male goats with initial body weight (BW) of 11-18 kg, were arranged to receive four dietarytreatments in a randomized complete block design. The diet used in the study contained 60% oil palm frond silage and 40%concentrate. The enzyme mixture produced by Aspergillus spp. BCC 274, containing approximately 1107, 9106, 2106, 1106and 2106 unit/kg dry weight for xylanase, -glucanase, cellulase, mannanase and amylase, respectively, was supplementedto the concentrate portion at 0, 2, 4 and 6 g/kgDM of the TMR. The results showed that the supplementation of enzyme tothe TMR did not affect (P>0.05) dry matter intake (DMI). Goats receiving TMR supplemented with enzyme at 2 g/kgDMtended to have higher ADG and better feed per gain ratio as compared with other treatments. Coefficient of DM digestibilityof TMR was not significantly affected by the enzyme supplementation. In addition, there were no significant differences(P>0.05) among treatments regarding, average NH3-N concentration, the amount of C2, C3 and C4 in the rumen fluid and BUNconcentration. However, overall mean of ruminal NH3-N concentration was significantly lower in goat receiving TMR supplemented with enzyme at 2 g/kgDM than that of goat receiving TMR with no enzyme supplementation (P<0.05). Based on thisexperiment, the application of enzyme at 2 g/kgDM in TMR containing OPF silage could increase ruminal availability of slowlydigestible carbohydrate and improve goat performance.

Keywords

• enzyme
• total mixed ration
• oil palm frond
• silage
• goat