Performance of cattle given crop residues supplemented with high-quality forages and agro-industrial by-products

[摘要] TwofeedingexperimentswereconductedatMakerereUniversityResearchInstitute,Kabanyolo(MUARIK)todetermineintakeandliveweightchangeingrowingFriesiansteersgivenmaizestoverasbasaldietsupplementedwithurea/molasses,immaturefreshgreenelephantgrassandcottonseedcake(CSC).Inexperiment1,sixteensteersaged9monthsandaveraging173kgliveweightwereusedinarandomizedblockdesign.Thedietsusedwere:choppedmaizestover(C)ascontrol;choppedmaizestover+urea/molasses(CU);choppedmaizestover+2kg/animal/dayofimmaturefreshgreenelephantgrass(CG);andchoppedmaizestover+urea/molasses+2kg/animal/dayofimmaturefreshgreenelephantgrass(CUG).Eachanimalgotaconstantinputof1kg/dayofcottonseedcake.Meanmaizestoverdrymatterintakes(DMI)forthefourtreatmentswereC1.6,CU2.1,CG1.7andCUG2.2kg/animal/day.TotalDMIwasC2.5,CU3.2,CG2.9andCUG3.6kg/animal/day.Theaveragedailyliveweightgain(ADG)wasC357,CU611,CG525andCUG718g/day.ThedifferencesinmaizestoverDMI,totalDMIandADGweresignificant(Plt;0.05).Inexperiment2,thetreatmentCUGwasusedasthebasaldietinordertomeasuretheresponseofgrowingFriesiansteersaged15monthsandaveraging327kgliveweighttogradedlevels(0,500,1000,1500,2000g/animal/day)ofcottonseedcake.TheregressionsoftotalDMI,ADGandkgCSC/kggainratiooncottonseedcakeweresignificant(Plt;0.05).Undertheconditionsoftheseexperiments,urea/molasses(experiment1)andthe500glevelofcottonseedcake(experiment2)mayberecommendedasthebestsupplementsonthebasisoflabourandcost.

[学科分类] 农业科学（综合）