Performance of lactating dairy cows fed sunflower or corn silages and concentrate based on citrus pulp or ground corn

Abstract

-This study aimed to evaluate the effect of diets containing sunflower or corn silages and concentrate based on citrus pulp or ground corn on intake, apparent digestibility, feeding behavior, microbial protein production, and production, composition, and fatty acid profile of milk from dairy cows. Eight multiparous lactating Holstein cows (586±61 kg live weight; 25.0±4.0 kg daily milk yield at 80 to 120 days in milk) were randomly assigned to a double 4 × 4 Latin square design with a 2 × 2 factorial array. The experimental diets were: sunflower silage + citrus pulp-based concentrate; sunflower silage + ground corn-based concentrate; corn silage + citrus pulp-based concentrate; and corn silage + ground corn-based concentrate. The dry matter intake was highest for diets containing sunflower silage and lowest for diets with citrus pulp. Sunflower silage provided the highest intakes of crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and ether extract. Except for the ether extract, the type of forage and carbohydrate did not influence the apparent nutrient digestibility. The forage and carbohydrate sources did not influence the feed eating time, but animals fed sunflower silage showed decreased rumination time and chewing activity. The microbial protein production was not altered with the diets. No differences were observed for milk production or composition, except for the milk urea nitrogen and lactose concentration. The type of forage influenced the milk fatty acid profile, to which corn silage presented higher values for fatty acids up to a 17-carbon chain length. The inclusion of sunflower silage and citrus pulp, compared with corn silage and ground corn, alters dry matter intake and ingestive behavior, but maintains milk production and composition with satisfactory characteristics of the milk fatty acid profile, providing an alternative feed for dairy cows.

Milk fatty acid composition of Holstein x Gyr dairy cows fed sugarcane-based diets containing citrus pulp supplemented with sunflower oil

“…It is therefore postulated that the resistance of the foodstuffs to breakdown during mastication might have lowered the intake rate, leading to lower DM intake (CARMO et al, 2015). Leite et al (2017) did not observe an effect of the inclusion of citrus pulp or ground corn on the nutrient digestibilities of the diets. In another study of lactating cows, Carmo et al (2015) reported a linear increase in the DM intake of corn silage-based diets in which ground corn was included as a substitute for citrus pulp.…”

“…On the other hand, using diets based on corn silage and sunflower silage, Leite et al (2017) reported lower DM intake when citrus pulp was included as a replacement for ground corn. These authors also observed that cows receiving citrus pulp spent more time ingesting, ruminating and chewing (per kg of DM or NDF) than those that received ground corn.…”

Total mixed ration silage containing elephant grass for small‐scale dairy farms

“…A drop in intake and a reduction in milk production by 2 or 3 kg/day have been reported when corn is replaced with citrus pulp for high-producing dairy cows (>30 kg milk À1 day À1 ; Brodericik, Mertens, & Simons, 2002;Leiva, Hall, & Van Horn, 2000). Nonetheless, the replacement can be made for low-performing herds without compromising milk production (Gehman et al, 2006;Leite et al, 2017). However, these authors observed a slight reduction in milk protein concentration when citrus pulp replaced corn grain, which is undesirable.…”

Physicochemical Quality, Fatty Acid Composition, and Sensory Analysis of Nellore Steers Meat Fed with Inclusion of Condensed Tannin in the Diet

“…Dietary factors that affect ruminal BH are the amount and type of dietary fatty acid sources (Martin & Jenkins, 2002), and supplements or additives that change the ruminal ecosystem. Such factors are associated to an increase in the percentage of VA and reaching the duodenum, as well as n-3 and n-6 fatty acids (Leite et al, 2017;Or-Rashid, Wright, & McBride, 2009). Therefore, nutritional strategies that increase dietary unsaturated fatty acids (Lourenço, Ramos-Morales, & Wallace, 2010) or decrease the rate of ruminal BH may increase the nutritive value of meat from ruminants (Morales & Ungerfeld, 2015;Parodi, 2016).…”