Producción de materia seca y componentes morfológicos de cuatro cultivares de Brachiaria en el trópico

El objetivo fue evaluar bajo condiciones de temporal la adaptación de cuatro cultivares de Brachiaria, con base en su comportamiento agronómico a diferentes edades de corte. Las variables medidas fueron: altura, producción de hojas, tallos, total, material vivo y muerto. Los datos se analizaron en diseño de bloques al azar con arreglo en parcelas divididas y prueba de Tukey, P<0.05, para diferencia múltiple de medias. La altura fue mayor (P<0.001) en los cultivares B. brizantha (Mg4) e Híbrido Mulato, con 42 y 41 cm, respectivamente, con relación a B. brizantha. La producción de hoja y material vivo fue mayor en el Híbrido Mulato, con 688 kg ms ha-1 (P<0.006) y 1,104 ms ha-1; P<0.001), respectivamente, comparada con B. decumbens. La producción de tallos (457 kg ms ha-1; P=0.05) y materia seca total (1,125 ms ha-1; P=0.05), tuvo tendencia a ser mayor en Híbrido Mulato. Se concluye que los cultivares con mejor desempeño agronómico fueron Brachiaria ruziziensis X B. brizantha (Híbrido Mulato) y Mg4, sin diferencia en la producción de materia seca entre cultivares

IDENTIFICACIÓN, USOS Y MEDICIÓN DE LEGUMINOSAS ARBÓREAS FORRAJERAS EN RANCHOS GANADEROS DEL SUR DEL ESTADO DE MÉXICO

El objetivo del trabajo fue identificar las especies arbóreas leguminosas, usos, densidad, frecuencia, abundancia y medidas dasométricas en ranchos ganaderos del sur del Estado de México; así como evaluar la producción de follaje (kg materia seca árbol-1ha-1) de Pithecellobium dulce, Haematoxylum brasiletto y Gliricidia sepium -preferidas por los ganaderos como fuente de forraje y con mayor densidad-; y evaluar la producción de fruto (kg materia seca árbol-1ha-1) de Acacia cochliacantha y P. dulce. La información de usos se obtuvo mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas aplicadas a 69 ganaderos, cantidad que representó 83% de la población. Las mediciones de los árboles se realizaron en seis ranchos mediante trabajo de campo. La información se analizó usando estadísticas descriptivas. Se identificaron 12 especies arbóreas (Acacia cochliacantha, Lysiloma divaricata, Pithecellobium dulce, Haematoxylum brasiletto y Gliricidia sepium), las cuales presentaron mayor densidad, frecuencia y abundancia. De 46.6% de las arbóreas, su follaje y fruto es consumido por rumiantes; de 20%, es consumido follaje, fruto y flor. Se proporcionan de cinco a ocho usos en 80% de las especies, además del forrajero, como leña, poste, sombra, cerca viva, medicinal, consumo humano, artesanal y maderable. Las arbóreas con mayor fuste fueron: Caesalpinia coriaria, Pithecellobium dulce, Enterolobium cyclocarpum y Leucaena esculenta, con diámetro basal (DB) de 47.11 a 57.2 cm, diámetro a la altura del pecho (DAP) de 49.34 a 50.3 cm y altura (A) de 7.4 a 14.5 m, los cuales son preferidos para sombra. La producción de follaje de Pithecellobium dulce, Haematoxylum brasiletto y Gliricidia sepium fue de 44.5, 8.8 y 8.4 kg MS arbol-1, respectivamente. La producción de fruto de Pithecellobium dulce y Acacia cochliacantha fue 63.9 y 21.7 kg MS árbol-1, respectivamente. Las 12 leguminosas arbóreas identificadas en la zona son reconocidas por los productores como arbóreas multipropósito, cuyo follaje es fuente de alimento para el ganado en lluvias y el fruto en secas, por lo que es importante su conservación y manejo en los ranchos ganaderos

Effect of increasing levels of seven tree species extracts added to a high concentrate diet on in vitro rumen gas output

There is a constant relationship between PSM at relatively low and moderate concentrations, and gas production (GP). This depends on the nature, activity and concentration of its active principles (Jiménez-Peralta et al. 2011; Salem et al. 2014). Rumen microorganisms have the ability to degrade low concentrations of alkaloids (Wachenheim et al. 1992), saponins (Hart et al. 2008) and phenolics (Varel et al. 1991) and utilize them as an energy source, without negative effects on rumen fermentation.This study was conducted to investigate the effects of increasing levels of extracts of Byrsonima crassifolia, Celtis pallida, Enterolobium cyclocarpum, Fraxinus excelsior, Ficus trigonata, Phoradendrom brevifolium and Prunus domestica on in vitro gas production (GP) and ruminal fermentation of a high concentrate diet. Plant extracts were prepared at 1 g dry matter (DM)/8 mL of solvent mixture (methanol : ethanol : water, 1:1:8) and added at levels of 0, 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8 mL/g DM of a high concentrate diet. In vitro GP was recorded at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h of incubation. Increasing addition of extracts linearly increased (P 0.05) occurred between the extracts and doses, it could be conclude that all extracts positively modified rumen fermentation at doses of 1.2 to 1.8 mL extract/g diet DM

Productive response of lambs fed Crescentia alata and Guazuma ulmifolia fruits in a tropical region of Mexico

polyethylene glycol (PEG) of the fruits of Crescentia alata and Guazuma ulmifolia was evaluated, the degradation kinetics of lamb diets with added fruit of the tree was determined, and the ration intake and growth rate of lambs fed these diets were measured. Twenty-five entire male lambs of 23.5± 0.44 kg body weight were used and distributed in treatments: T0 (control without fruit); T1 and T2, 15 and 30 % of the fruit of C. alata; and T3 and T4, 15 and 30 % of the fruit of G. ulmifoli

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF LEGUMINOUS TREE FOLIAGE AND EFFECT OF POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL ON GAS PRODUCTION AND IN VITRO DIGESTION PARAMETERS

The objective was to determine the chemical composition, digestibility and in vitro digestion parameters in ten legume tree foliage using the in vitro gas-production method with and without polyethylene glycol (PEG). The foliages with higher protein content (P<0.001) (167.1 to 180.3 g/kg DM) were A. cochliacantha, L. esculenta, E. cyclocarpum and A. farnesiana; from the total phenols (P<0.001) (365.9 to 680.6 g/kg DM) L. divaricata, H. brasiletto and C. coriaria and condensed tannins (P<0.001) (35.4 to 88.0 g/kg DM) E. cyclocarpum, A. farnesiana, P. dulce, P. acatlense and G. sepium. The in vitro dry matter digestibility was different (P<0.001) among the foliages. The in vitro gas production (IVGP), in vitro organic matter digestibility, metabolizable energy (ME), gas yield (GY24h), short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and microbial mass production (PMM), were different (P<0.0001) among the foliage as a result of the species. The use of PEG increased (P<0.0001) IVGP, ME, GY24h and SCFA in H brasiletto, C. coriaria, L. esculenta and A. cochliacantha, but affect (P<0.0001) the partition factor and the PMM. The nutritional composition and fermentation parameters in vitro between foliages differ by effect of tree and use of PEG. It is concluded that chemical composition in the foliages affect the digestibility and fermentation parameters and use of PEG increased fermentation parameters in the foliages high in secondary compounds

Influence of Salix babylonica extract addition on in vitro rumen gas production and degradability of ryegrass silage harvested in different cutting days

Four cutoffs of ryegrass after 15 days (CD15), 30 days (CD30), 45 days (CD45), and 60 days (CD60) with Salix babylonica (SB) extract at 0, 30, and 60 ml/kg ryegrass silage were ensiled for 40 days and then evaluated for the in vitro dry matter (DM) digestibility and gas production (GP). No interactions occurred between cutting day and SB extract for silage’s nutrient contents and in vitro GP. The DM and organic matter (OM) contents were decreased linearly with decreased crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibres, acid detergent fibres, and acid detergent lignin contents with advancing of days. In contrary, addition of SB extract increased silages’ OM and decreased CP contents. Addition of SB extract for CD15 and CD60 silages, quadratically decreased the lag time. However, SB extract increased the rate of GP and GP during the first 12 h of incubation at the level of 30 ml/kg with CD30 silage and asymptotic GP with the level 60 ml/kg of CD60 silage. Increased DM degradability (DMD) of CD30 and CD60 silages versus decreased DMD with CD15 with increased relative GP (ml gas/g DMD). It could be concluded that CD15 had the highest DM and OM content; however, higher GP was noted with CD45 and CD60. SB extract had weak effects on nutrient content and GP, and the level of 30 ml/kg DM was more effective than the level of 60 ml/kg DM

The chemical composition and in vitro digestibility evaluation of almond tree (Prunus dulcis D. A. Webb syn. Prunus amygdalus; var. Shokoufeh) leaves versus hulls and green versus dry leaves as feed for ruminants

The current study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of almond tree (Prunus dulcis D. A. Webb syn. Prunus amygdalus; var. Shokoufeh) leaves versus hulls, and green versus dry leaves as feed for ruminants. The fresh green almond hulls (GAH) and leaves (GAL) were harvested and spread under a shade to dry. Dry almond leaves (DAL) were collected from under the trees where as dry almond hulls (DAH) were collected 4 weeks after harvesting the fresh samples. The chemical composition of substrates was determined using standard approaches and the metabolisable energy (ME), in vitro dry matter (DMD) and in vitro organic matter (OMD) digestibility were measured using the in vitro gas production (GP) technique. The GAL contained 81 g crude protein (CP) kg-1 DM while DAH contained 103 g CP kg-1 DM. The CP was higher (P = 0.0003) in dry (leaves and hulls) than in green (leaves and hulls) samples. The ash content ranged from 99.2 to 181.5 g kg-1 DM in DAH and DAL, respectively, (P = 0.0041). The ether extract content ranged from 27 for DAH to 65 g kg-1 for DAL (P = 0.0018). The acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre content ranged from 185 to 304 and 444 to 620 g kg-1 DM (P = 0.04), for GAL and DAH, respectively. The DAH had the highest (P = 0.0001) GP24 and GP96. The DAH had the highest (P = 0.0001) potential GP (i.e., b), while the GP rate was highest for GAL and GAH (P = 0.034), ME was highest for DAH (P = 0.0001), and in vitro OMD was highest for DAH (P = 0.0001). The highest DMD (P = 0.0001) values were obtained with DAH followed by GAL, DAL and GAH, respectively. It can be concluded that almond hulls and leaves have a good nutritional potential to cover the maintenance nutrient requirements of small ruminants. Almond hulls and leaves can also be used as supplement to low quality mature pasture and/or crop residues. However, more studies are warranted to better characterize these feeds in in vivo animal feeding trials

Influence of oral administration of Salix babylonica extract on milk production and composition in dairy cows

Ruminal fermentation is accompanied by losses of the energy and protein consumed by dairy cows (Tamminga, 1992; Busquet et al., 2006) which may limit productive performance and contribute to release of pollutants to the environment (Calsamiglia et al., 2007). Ionophores have been used to reduce these losses (McGuffey et al., 2001), but the use of antibiotics in animal feeds has been banned in the European Union since January 2006 (Jiménez-Peralta et al., 2012) due to potential appearance of residues in milk (Russell and Houlihan, 2003). For this reason, there is substantial interest in evaluating the potential of using natural antimicrobials, such as plant extracts generally recognized as safe for human consumption (Busquet et al., 2006; Fandiño et al., 2008), to modify rumen microbial fermentation. Extract of Salix babylonica (SB) have been evaluated for their anti-microbial effects and for their potential to modulate ruminal fermentation and improve nutrient utilization in ruminants (Mejía-Hernández et al., 2013; Salem, 2012; Salem et al., 2010, 2011).The antimicrobial activity of SB extracts has been attributed to a number of plant secondary metabolites (PSM) such as alkaloids, saponins and phenolics (Jiménez-Peralta et al., 2011). Rumen microorganisms have the ability to degrade low concentrations of PSM without negative effects on rumen fermentation. Rumen microorganisms can also degrade alkaloids (Lanigan, 1970; Wachenheim et al., 1992), saponins (Lu and Jorgensen, 1987; Hu et al., 2005; Hart et al., 2008) and phenolics (Varel and Jung, 1986; Varel et al., 1991) and utilize them as an energy source. Some PSM can enhance protein metabolism and decrease methane production (Benchaar et al., 2007), and have the ability to suppress or stimulate microbial growth, increase binding of ammonia during urea ammoniation of straw and reduce odours from cattle manure in dairy barns (Makkar et al., 1998; Salem et al., 2012). In addition, some PSM reduce nutritional stress such as bloat and/or improve animal health and productivity (Patra et al., 2006; Benchaar et al., 2007, Xhomfulana et al., 2009; Salem et al., 2010). Positive effects on daily gain, voluntary feed intake and milk production (Salem et al., 2011) have been demonstrated, as well as a protective effect on dietary protein in the rumen in order to promote duodenal absorption, minimize excretion of nitrogen, modify the acetate to propionate ratio in rumen fluid and decrease the parasitic load (Salem et al., 2010; Jiménez- Peralta et al., 2011). Use of plant extracts could be limited by their secondary compound concentrations as consumption of large amounts of tannins or saponins may have a direct haemolytic effect and may even cause death (Athanasiadou and Kyriazakis, 2004). Moreover, long term feeding of plants rich in secondary compounds may have detrimental effects on animal health (Mahgoub et al., 2008). This experiment was conducted to determine effects of SB extract mixed in the diet on milk production and composition in Brown Swiss cows in addition to in vitro gas production of the diet fed to the cows with different doses of SB.A 3×3 Latin Square design was used to evaluate effects of 0, 150 and 300 mL of Salix babylonica (SB) extract mixed into the diet on daily milk production and composition in cows. Three Brown Swiss dairy cows (420±30.3 kg body weight), at late lactation (220±25.1 d in milk), were fed a diet with a restricted amount of concentrate and oat hay ad libitum twice daily in equal amounts. The SB extract was mixed daily with a small amount of concentrate and fed to the cows. In vitro gas production of the diet fed to the cows was recorded at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h of incubation with 0, 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8 mL SB/g DM

The chemical composition and in vitro digestibility evaluation of almond tree (Prunus dulcis D. A. Webb syn. Prunus amygdalus; var. Shokoufeh) leaves versus hulls and green versus dry leaves as feed for ruminants

Almond, (Prunus dulcis D. A. Webb syn. Prunus amygdalus) is a species belonging to the Rosaceae family (Sfahlan et al. 2009). The state of California in the USA is the major producer of almond; however, its production is widely distributed (Wijerante et al. 2006) and there is increasing interest to produce almond and its by-products worldwide. Approximately 2,112,815 metric ton of almonds with shell is produced globally with Iran contributing about 110,000 metric ton (FAO 2007). Almond is a midsize tree with fruit that can grow up to ten meters tall (Chen et al. 2010). The fruit is made of hulls, shell and kernel. Drying almond hulls results in approximately (kg-1 DM) 250 g nut, 500 g hulls and 250 g shell (Aguilar et al. 1984; Fadel 1999).The current study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of almond tree (Prunus dulcis D. A. Webb syn. Prunus amygdalus; var. Shokoufeh) leaves versus hulls, and green versus dry leaves as feed for ruminants. The fresh green almond hulls (GAH) and leaves (GAL) were harvested and spread under a shade to dry. Dry almond leaves (DAL) were collected from under the trees where as dry almond hulls (DAH) were collected 4 weeks after harvesting the fresh samples. The chemical composition of substrates was determined using standard approaches and the metabolisable energy (ME), in vitro dry matter (DMD) and in vitro organic matter (OMD) digestibility were measured using the in vitro gas production (GP) technique. The GAL contained 81 g crude protein (CP) kg-1 DM while DAH contained 103 g CP kg-1 DM. The CP was higher (P = 0.0003) in dry (leaves and hulls) than in green (leaves and hulls) samples. The ash content ranged from 99.2 to 181.5 g kg-1 DM in DAH and DAL, respectively, (P = 0.0041). The ether extract content ranged from 27 for DAH to 65 g kg-1 for DAL (P = 0.0018). The acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre content ranged from 185 to 304 and 444 to 620 g kg-1 DM (P = 0.04), for GAL and DAH, respectively. The DAH had the highest (P = 0.0001) GP24 and GP96. The DAH had the highest (P = 0.0001) potential GP (i.e., b), while the GP rate was highest for GAL and GAH (P = 0.034), ME was highest for DAH (P = 0.0001), and in vitro OMD was highest for DAH (P = 0.0001). The highest DMD (P = 0.0001) values were obtained with DAH followed by GAL, DAL and GAH, respectively. It can be concluded that almond hulls and leaves have a good nutritional potential to cover the maintenance nutrient requirements of small ruminants. Almond hulls and leaves can also be used as supplement to low quality mature pasture and/or crop residues. However, more studies are warranted to better characterize these feeds in in vivo animal feeding trials