Agronomy (Feb 2023)

The Effect of Babassu Industry By-Products as an Alternative Feed for Dairy Cows

  • Anderson Zanine,
  • Cledson De Sá,
  • Daniele Ferreira,
  • Henrique Parente,
  • Michelle Parente,
  • Edson Mauro Santos,
  • Rosane Rodrigues,
  • Francisco Naysson Santos,
  • Anny Graycy Lima,
  • Ivo Alexandre Cunha,
  • Francisca Claudia de Sousa,
  • Renata Costa,
  • Danillo Pereira,
  • Paloma Gabriela Gomes,
  • João Ricardo Dórea

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020491
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 2
p. 491

Abstract

Read online

The objective of this study was to evaluate the fermentative characteristics, chemical composition, and in vitro digestibility of a total mixed ration silage containing two babassu by-products, starchy flour and babassu cake. The treatments were distributed in a completely randomised design containing four treatments and five replications. The treatments consisted of corn silage, corn silage based on the standard corn and soybean diet, corn silage with babassu flour, and corn silage with babassu cake. No significant difference was observed in the pH values (p = 0.256) for the studied silages. Higher values for dry matter recovery were observed for the silages of the total diets. The corn silage presented lower lactic acid production (55.15 g/kg DM) and acetic acid (11.54 g/kg DM) in relation to the total ration silages. The inclusion of babassu by-products increased the dry matter (p p p < 0.001) in the total ration silages. Silage in the form of the total ration containing regional babassu by-products improved the fermentative profile of the silages and the nutritional value of the diets, endowing them with potential for use as a feed alternative for dairy cattle.

Keywords