Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) vine silage: a cost-effective supplement for milk production in smallholder dairy-farming systems of East Africa?

Abstract

Context Dairy production in East Africa is dominated by smallholder production systems, but is dogged by suboptimal milk production mediated by poor nutrition. Grain-based concentrates can be used to make the energy and protein deficits in rain-fed systems, but this strategy faces several hurdles. For livestock production systems to be sustainable, it is important that less human-edible food is fed to animals and sweet potato can serve both as a source of human food (tuber) and animal feed (vines). Smallholder scale-appropriate technology has been used to allow feed preservation of the perishable sweet potato vines for use throughout the year. Aims We assessed the efficacy of sweet potato vine silage plus wheat bran (SPVSWB) as a supplement to maintain milk production at a lower cost than that of grain-based commercial dairy concentrate (CDC). Methods Multiparous Holstein–Friesian cattle (n = 12) were given a basal diet of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum cv. South Africa), ad libitum, plus a fixed amount of either SPVSWB or CDC, (designed to be both iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric) during late (LL) and early (EL) lactations. Key results Daily milk yield was lower for SPVSWB than for CDC groups, although comparable (not significant), in both LL (6.2 vs 7.5 L/day) and EL (14.2 vs 16.0 L/day); however, the lower cost of production for SPVSWB (23.2 vs 48.7 KES/kg DM) ensured that margins on milk income over feed (per cow per day) were greater for SPVSWB in both periods. (LL: 71 vs 14.5; and EL: 426 vs 400 KES/day). The lower intake for SPVSWB than for CDC is most probably due to high neutral detergent fibre content in the supplement and the lower milk production, owing to either, or both, of lower energy and protein intake. Conclusions It is suggested that some reformulation of SPVS, replacing in part or in whole the Napier grass with rejected sweet potato tubers, will decrease the neutral detergent fibre content, increase the metabolisable energy content, reducing the need for additional wheat bran and may, thereby, enhance the production response to equate with that of CDC. Implications It is clear that, despite SPVSWB eliciting lower milk production (LL 6.2 and EL14.2 L/day) than does CDC (LL 7.5 and EL 16.0 L/day), SPVSWB is a cost-effective, accessible alternative to grain-based supplementation in small-holder dairy-farming systems of Kenya.

Can banana peel and sweet potato vines have efficient in diets for growing rabbits?

“…The inclusion of banana peel (BP) and sweet potato vines (SPV), and their advantages and bene ts in animal feeding, have been studied by several researchers in recent years (Gakige, et al 2020;Galla, et al 2020;Sugiharto, et al 2020;Shumye et al 2022). Our results indicate that it is possible to completely replace corn and alfalfa hay by the combination of BP and SPV in rabbit feeds.…”

Nutrient-Dense Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato: Advances in Drought-Tolerance Breeding and Understanding of Management Practices for Sustainable Next-Generation Cropping Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…By 1594, the crop was established in China, where the Qing Dynasty heavily promoted it to mitigate droughts and increase food security (Jia, 2013). Currently, for drought prone areas, the crop offers a variety of ways to be consumed as food, including processed items such as, inter alia, baked products, ready-to-eat breakfast foods, french-fries, syrup, starch and beverages (Woolfe, 1992;Bovell-Benjamin, 2007;Padmaja, 2009) as well as animal feed, such as fresh chopped vines for dairy feed (Kinyua, 2013), roots for pigs and poultry (Murugan et al, 2012) or vines and roots as components of silage for pigs and cattle (Kiragu, 2015;Gakige et al, 2020). Cultivars used both as food and feed are known as "dual-purpose" sweetpotatoes, possessing high foliage yields for their use as fresh fodder, in silage or as high-protein feed supplements plus adequate root output (Zhang et al, 1993;León-Velarde and De Mendiburu, 2007).…”

Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi adopsi pemanfaatan limbah pertanian sebagai pakan pada peternak sapi perah di Kabupaten Enrekang

“…Suplementasi pakan dengan silase ubi jalar sortiran dapat dilakukan untuk mendukung usaha sapi perah skala kecil. Biaya produksi silase ubi jalar lebih murah dibanding jika suplementasi pakan berbasis biji-bijian atau konsentrat komersil [20]. Penggunaan brangkasan ubi jalar jika dicampurkan dengan rumput gajah pada praktek yang dilakukan oleh peternak sapi perah di beberapa negara yang melakukan integrasi ubi jalar dengan ternak menunjukkan produksi susu yang paling tinggi dibanding dengan kombinasi pakan lainnya [21].…”