This study evaluated the performance, body water balance, ingestive behavior and blood metabolites in goats fed with cactus pear silage subjected to an intermittent water supply. Thirty-six goats were distributed in a randomized block design arranged as a 3 × 3 factorial with cactus pear silage in the goats’ diet (on a 0%, 21% and 42% dry matter-DM basis) and water offer frequency (ad libitum, and 24 and 48 h water restrictions). There was an interaction only between the cactus pear silage level and water offerings for drinking water. Goats fed 42% cactus pear silage had greater intake of non-fibrous carbohydrates, energy, Ca, Mg and Na minerals, water intake, urinary water excretion, body water retention and nutrient digestibility. Cactus pear silage inclusion up to a 42% rate reduced eating and ruminating time and increased the time spent idling as well as the eating and the ruminating efficiency rate. Water restriction at 48 h reduced drinking water intake. Performance and blood metabolites were not affected by cactus silage inclusion or water offering. Cactus pear silage inclusion at up to 42% for goats is recommended during periods of water shortage in semiarid and arid regions because it improves eating, the ruminating efficiency rate, and body water retention; cactus pear silage inclusion at this rate reduces water consumption and it does not affect the performance or health of the animals.

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Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) constitutes one of the principal protein sources for the economically constrained low-income sector. The composition of the wood ash reveals macro and micronutrients, which form an alternative source of high-added value fertilizers, very suitable for low-cost farming systems. The aim of this study was to estimate the use of wood ash as a fertilizer during the early developmental stages of the cowpea. A randomized block design with four replications was selected for the experiment. It was performed in a greenhouse, in pots 1.5 dm-3 capacity, to which five wood ash doses (0, 8, 16, 24 and 32 g dm-3) were added. The following variables were analyzed, viz. plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, chlorophyll index, shoot and root dry masses, mass and number of nodules, water consumption and water use

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