Abstract:
This experiment intended to find out the nutritive value of fodder species and
industrial by-products available for feeding ruminants in Anuradhpura district.
Fodder species; maize (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum bicolour), CO-3
(Pennisetum purpureum x P. americanum), gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium), and
guinea grass (Panicum maximum) and agro-industrial by-products; rice (Oryza
sativa) bran, coconut (Cocos nucifera) poonac, maize (Zea mays L.) meal and soya
bean (Glycine max) meal (SBM) were analyzed for dry matter (DM), crude
protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), ether extract (EE), ash, acid detergent fiber (ADF),
neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and gross energy (GE). Nitrogen free extract (NFE),
total digestible nutrients (TDN) and metabolizable energy (ME) were calculated.
The data were analysed using one-way ANOVA procedure in SAS. The observed
TDN, ME and GE of fodder species differed significantly (p<0.05). Gliricidia
obtained the highest (p<0.05) percentage of DM (25.10±0.78), EE (3.96±0.62),
CP (23.79±0.41), TDN (64.34±1.40) and GE (4060±5.54 kcal/g) and ME
(2420±0.26 kcal/kg). Guinea grass contained the highest (p<0.05) percentage of
ADF (46.78±3.25) and NDF (71.15±1.96) compared to other fodder species.
Sorghum and CO-3 had the highest (p<0.05) percentage of ash (10.21±1.77) and
CF (36.70±2.94) while the lowest (p<0.05) percentage of ash and CF were
recorded in maize (7.77±0.44) and gliricidia (26.37±5.48), respectively. When
considering the agro-industrial by-products, highest (p<0.05) percentage of total
ash (8.52±0.79), CP (50.99±0.43), TDN (83.50±2.09) and ME (3280±0.39
kcal/kg) were reported in SBM while NFE (83.08±1.22%) was highest in maize
meal. The highest (p<0.05) percentage of EE and GE were obtained from rice
bran. Thus, the results of the current study show that the above feed ingredients
available in Anuradhapura district are rich in nutrients needed for dairy cows
and that they can be effectively incorporated in the formulation of total mixed
rations for dairy cows.
