Nutritional Value of Climate-Resilient Forage Species Sustaining Peri-Urban Dairy Cow Production in the Coastal Grasslands of Benin (West Africa)

Abstract

Along the coast of West Africa, grazing ruminants rely on perennial forage species remaining in uncultivated plots, roadsides, and marshlands during the dry season. To assess the quality of these forages, thirteen drought-tolerant plants were harvested at the mature stage, and the samples were evaluated for chemical composition, in vitro fermentation characteristics, and metabolizable energy (ME) content. They are ten drought-tolerant grasses, including: Andropogon virginicus, Brachiaria deflexa, Cenchorus biflorus, Dactyloctenium aegyptium, Eragrostis tremula, Leptochloa caerulescens, Loudetia aroundinacea, Paspalum notatum, Paspalum vaginatum, Pennisetum purpureum, two perennial herbs, Chamaecrista rotundifolia, Zornia latifolia, and one multipurpose tree, Elaeis guineensis. Legume species had the highest nutritional value (highest crude protein and ME, and lowest neutral detergent fiber) of the species studied. In terms of the in vitro data, the gas produced after 120 h of incubation ranged from 149 mL/g in E. tremula to 185 mL/g in Paspalum. Z. latifoliaa and had the fastest rate of fermentation, producing half of the total gas in 19.5 h, whereas E. tremula required 49.9 h (p < 0.01). The production of branched-chain fatty acids (isobutyrate and isovalerate) was greatest for E. guineensis and the lowest in both Paspalum species (p < 0.01). The study suggests the need for the protein supplementation of the animals to ensure maximum forage utilization and to satisfy the nutrient requirements of ruminant livestock.

The Chemical Characteristics and In Vitro Degradability of Pineapple By-Products as Potential Feed for Ruminants

“…Several factors such as sampling and chemical composition might affect volatile fatty acid production, which affects pH and microorganism development in the rumen. Surprisingly, previous research focused on natural pasture and cultivated grass in the pineapple growing area of West Africa and reported similar results regarding the total VFA [30]. These results might encourage further research to replace limited feedstuffs during the dry season with alternative resources, such as pineapple by-products, to help the farmers to sustain their productivity through the dry season and maintain animal productivity throughout the year.…”

“…An in vitro gas production technique (IVGPT) was applied to evaluate the fermentation characteristics of pineapple by-products [30]. Each sample of pineapple by-products was weighed (1.0025 ± 0.0011 g) in four repetitions in 120 mL bottles with 75 mL of medium in anaerobic condition.…”

“…The NDF and ADF of the core and pomace were low and not much different from other by-products such as sugar beet pulp, pepper core, and citrus pulp [35]. However, some studies highlight the high proportion of NDF and ADF in dehydrated pineapple by-products [38,40], comparable to the grass grown in West African natural pasture [30]. This discrepancy might be due to the method of collection (separately vs. pooled: bud end, peel, core, and pomace together), processing techniques (homemaking vs. industrial), and cultivation area conditions (soils, temperature, and rainfall differences) [41].…”

Forage:Concentrate Ratio Effects on In Vivo Digestibility and In Vitro Degradability of Horse’s Diet

“…On the last day of the in vivo tests, a feces sample was taken from each animal, kept in anaerobic conditions at a temperature of 39 °C, immediately transported to the Food analysis laboratory of the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, and used for the preparation of the inoculum for the in vitro test, using the GPT [ 29 , 30 ]. To this end, according to Macheboeuf et al [ 31 ], 50 g of feces was mixed with 100 mL of anaerobic buffer at 39 °C, filtered through four layers of gauze, and diluted 1:1 with the buffer, finally obtaining an inoculum for each of the four horses used for each diet.…”

Sustainable Feeds for Animal Nutrition in Tropical Areas

“…Climate change increased the frequency of drought, resulting in fodder shortages during the dry season. Koura et al [ 2 ] identified and assessed the nutritional value of thirteen drought-tolerant plants in the coastal grasslands of Benin in West Africa. Most of these forage plants, particularly Poaceae, were poor in nutritional value; however, the cultivation of some promising drought-tolerant plants such as Dactyloctenium aegyptium , Zornia latifolia , and Chamaecrista rotundifolia , which showed the best nutritional characteristics, could be used to sustain ruminant production along these coastal areas.…”