Use of ensiled cassava pulp for ruminant feeding II - beef cattle.
2004
Skunmum, P. | Innurak, P. | Kaewsomprasng, K.
Cassava pulp, an agroindustrial by-product of about 2 million tons in wet form a year in Thailand, remains unconventional feed for ruminants. It can cause pollution during rainy season because of unavailable containment of some tapioca flour plants. This research aimed to study feed intake and growth of beef cattle fed on grass and ensiled cassava pulp supplemented with palm kernel cake (PKC) as a protein source. Twelve Kamphaeng Saen bull calves with similar initial body weights were chosen in pairs, and two feeding levels of PKC (0.5 and 1.5 kg) supplementation for cattle, along with grass and ensiled cassava pulp ad libitum, were assigned randomly to each animal of each pair. The results during 93-day feeding trial showed that the animals fed with 1.5 kg PKC grew 67% faster than those fed 0.5 kg PKC (0.40 and 0.13 kg/hd/day, P less than 0.01), while the intakes of green and ensiled cassava pulp per 1 kg body weight gain were found more efficient in the former than in the latter (P less than 0.01) with lower feed cost of about 2.6 fold. This study offered an alternative for beef cattle feeding for small farmers with limited investment.
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