Nutritional potential of bamboo leaves for feeding dairy cattle

Abstract

Feed shortage during the dry season in the highlands of Madagascar negatively impacts the dairy cattle productivity, as well as the farmers’ income. Bamboo can produce a high quantity of biomass and could be an alternative way to increase the fodder supply for cattle. The present study aimed to assess the compositional information and the optimal rate of bamboo as fodder for dairy cattle. Leaf samples from nine bamboo species were collected to determine their chemical composition and nutritive value. A feeding experiment was also conducted using ten dairy cows, over ten weeks. Bamboo leaves were mixed with maize silage in five proportions: SIL0:BAM100, SIL25:BAM75, SIL50:BAM50, SIL75:BAM25 and SIL100:BAM0. The contents of dry matter, total ash and crude protein in the bamboo leaves were, respectively, 44.5-64.6 %, 6.68-18.5 % and 7.71-15.4 %. In the feeding trial, the dry matter intake of bamboo leaves was 1.6-7.1 kg per day, with an average of 4.8 kg per day. The dry matter apparent digestibility of bamboo leaves was 37.4-56.4 %. The milk production reached 13.6-14.4 L per cow, per day, but there was no significant difference concerning the rate of bamboo leaves in the mixed diet (p > 0.05). The introduction of bamboo leaves into the ruminants diet did not affect their milk production.

Seasonality of the biological potential of extracts of Merostachys neesii Rupr. (Poaceae: Bambusoideae)

“…neesii was similar to obtained for Phyllostachys aureosulcata (Dierenfeld et al 1982) and to some species evaluated by Bhandari et al (2015). ADF amount (57.4%) was higher than the reported for other bamboo species (Khanal and Subba 2001;Halvorson et al 2010;Bhandari et al 2015;Andriarimalala et al 2019). ADL data (11.2%) corroborates those obtained by Andriarimalala et al (2019).…”

“…ADF amount (57.4%) was higher than the reported for other bamboo species (Khanal and Subba 2001;Halvorson et al 2010;Bhandari et al 2015;Andriarimalala et al 2019). ADL data (11.2%) corroborates those obtained by Andriarimalala et al (2019). Sahoo et al (2010) evaluated the hemicellulose content, a structural polysaccharide present in the plant cell wall, of some bamboo species; they observed the average value of 29%.…”

“…Ash level is a good indicator of the content of minerals present in plants (Mandal 1997;Andriarimalala et al 2019). However, special attention should be given to bamboos.…”

Nutrient content and in vitro degradation study of some unconventional feed resources of Bangladesh

“…In fact, the chemical composition of seaweed depends on various factors like species, harvesting season, habitat and light, and water temperature, and therefore, significant variability is reported in the literature ( Makkar et al., 2016 ). Andriarimalala et al. (2019) worked on the nutritional potential of bamboo leaves for feeding dairy cattle and observed that the bamboo leaves contained 7.71–15.4 % crude protein.…”

Genetic diversity, population structure, and gene flow analysis of lowland bamboo [Oxytenanthera abyssinica (A. Rich.) Munro] in Ethiopia

“…Due to its potential for water recharge and mitigation soil erosion, bamboo also provides an opportunity for watershed development and restoration of degraded areas (Kaushal et al., 2019, 2020). Furthermore, bamboo is a fodder for livestock and food for humans contributing to ensuring food security (Andriarimalala, Kpomasse, Salgado, Ralisoa, & Durai, 2019; Choudhury, Sahu, & Sharma, 2012; Halvorson, Cassida, Turner, & Belesky, 2011; Mulatu, Bahiru, Kidane, Getahun, & Belay, 2019; Nongdam & Tikendra, 2014). Bamboo has huge economic potential; the global production and local consumption are worth an estimated 60 billion USD, and the international export of the material is valued at USD 2 billion per annum (International Network for Bamboo & Rattan, 2019).…”