The aim of this study was to evaluate diets substituting corn grain with passion fruit peels on the consumption, ingestive behavior, digestibility of diets and sheep performance. A total of 20 sheep were used, confined in individual pens, fed twice a day, with diets which included passion fruit peels in the proportions of 0; 25; 50; 75 and 100% replacing corn grain. The corn grain represented 70% of the dry matter of the diet and the passion fruit peels were supplied in dehydrated form. The experimental design was completely randomized with five treatments and four replicates. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and regression analysis at the significance level of 5%. There was a linear increase in dry matter consumption with an increase of 3.89 g for each inclusion level of passion fruit peel. The apparent digestibility of dry matter decreased and neutral detergent fiber increased linearly with the substitution of corn grain with passion fruit peels. The feeding, rumination, leisure and water intake times presented averages of 3.74; 2.92; 16.92 and 0.42 hours, and were not influenced by the diets (P>0.05). The average daily weight gain was similar for the animals in the different diets and consequently the final weight presented average values of 0.226 kg day-1 and 32.1 kg, respectively. The inclusion of passion fruit peels in the sheep diet is an interesting alternative because even with the reduced dry matter digestibility, it increased the consumption and promoted similar weight gains.

Objetivou-se avaliar a suplementação proteica ou proteica-energética e a substituição da quirera de milho pela casca de maracujá na suplementação proteica, para novilhas durante a recria, no período de seca, além do estudo da viabilidade econômica dessas suplementações. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente casualizado, com três tratamentos e oito repetições. Foram utilizadas 24 novilhas, divididas em três lotes: lote 1, suplementação proteica à base de núcleo proteico e quirera de milho (1:1), fornecida na quantidade de 1 g por kg de peso corporal; lote 2, suplementação proteica-energética, à base de núcleo proteico e quirera de milho (1:2), fornecida na quantidade de 3 g por kg de peso corporal; e lote 3, suplementação proteica à base de núcleo proteico e casca de maracujá (1:1), na quantidade de 1 g por kg de peso corporal. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias comparadas pelo teste de Tukey, ao nível de 5%. Os pesos, inicial e final, foram semelhantes para as suplementações. O ganho de peso médio diário foi semelhante entre os animais que receberam a suplementação proteica com quirera de milho e a suplementação proteica-energética e superior em relação aos animais que receberam a suplementação proteica com casca de maracujá. Mesmo apresentando diferenças no ganho de peso, o lucro diário por animal foi semelhante. O ganho de peso de novilhas na recria é influenciado pelo tipo de suplementação, durante o período de seca, porém a lucratividade pode ser semelhante.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance, carcass yield and economic indices of different types of supplementation in the termination of Nellore cattle reared in a pasture system. Thirty-four cattle, with an average weight of 480.4±34.6 kg, submitted to two treatments, animals fed protein-energy supplementation and fed only with energy supplementation, distributed in a completely randomized design, where each animal was considered an experimental repetition. In relation to performance, dry matter consumption in absolute value and in relation to weight, total weight gain, daily weight gain, final weight, hot carcass weight and carcass yield were evaluated. To obtain the economic indices, the revenue of the commercialization and net income per animal were generated from the performance and market price data. The data were submitted to variance analysis and for the medias applied the F. Test There was difference for the average daily gain and the total weight gain. The animals that received the energy supplement had higher average daily gain (1,422 kg/day) compared to animals receiving the protein-energy supplement (0.940 kg/day), which reflected in greater final weight, but profitability was similar (R$ 170.23 and R$ 149.53 per animal). Regarding the other variables, there was no effect of the different supplementations. Therefore, the economic return in relation to nutritional investment in the termination of nellore cattle reared in pasture is similar between protein-energy and energy supplementation.