Nutrient profile of unconventional feeds of malwa region of Madhya Pradesh

This study was carried out to assess the nutritional composition of some unconventional feed resources available in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh, so as to use them in the diet of livestock to enhance their productivity. Seven (07) unconventional ingredients including soybean husk(Glycine max), mordhan husk(Stariapumila), watermelon seed coat(Citrulluslanatus), babul chuni(Acacia arabica), saufby-product(Foeniculum vulgare), rajgiri husk(Amaranthus spp.)and soybean chuni(Glycine max) were collected, sun-dried,processed into meal and analyzed for their chemical and macro-mineral composition. The results showed that the moistureranged from 0.68% (watermelon seed coat) to 7.47% (saufby-product). The crude protein (CP) content ranged from 6.41% (rajgiri husk) to 17.0% (soybean chuni). Saufby-product recorded the highest (3.36%) Ether Extract (EE) value, followed by byrajgiri husk (3.06%) and soybean chuni (2.85%), while the others were below 2.0%. The crude fiber (CF) content was ranging from 64.6% (watermelon coat) to 14.2% (soybean chuni). Total ash and acid insoluble ash was highest in saufby-product (20.5 and 7.44%) and lowest in watermelon coat (1.99 and 0.18%). Saufby-product contained the highest level of calcium (4.33%), followed by babul chuni (3.23%), whilerajgiri huskand soybean chunnirecorded highest level of 0.54% phosphorus. The cell wall content was highest in mordhan husk (85.12%) followed by watermelon coat (84.80%). Mordhan husk contained the highest level of hemicellulose (38.9%), while soybean husk recorded high level of cellulose (15.3%). The lignin content was highest in watermelon coat (44.9%) followed by mordhan husk (42.0%), rajgiri husk (38.2%), soybean husk (20.9%), saufby-product (18.9%), babul chuni (8.52%) and soybean chuni (6.66%). These results showed that unconventional samples contained appreciable quantities of dietary nutrients and can be partially or completely substitute for the conventional feed sources in the animal feeding.