Aerial parts of cassava as partial replacement for feed concentrates in the diet of lambs raised in semi-confinement

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the performance and economic viability of including the aerial parts of cassava (PAM) in the feed of semi-confined lambs for partial reduction of food concentrates. Fifty-six sheep, including males and females of the Pantaneira genetic group weighing 18.84 ± 2.02 kg on an average were used. The experiment was conducted in a factorial randomized complete block design with four treatments, each with seven females and seven males. Each group of 14 animals received one of four treatments: control, 10% of food concentrate in diet replaced with PAM, 20% replaced with PAM, and 30% replaced with PAM. The average total gain in weight (GWT) of the male lambs was 26.89% higher than the gains observed in females. Based on the cost analysis, we observed a linear effect (P < 0.01), i.e., a decrease in the feed cost for male and female groups with increase in PAM content. For the study period, the expenditure for the control male group was the highest at $ 17.60 per animal. Expenditure for the PAM 30 male group was the lowest at $ 12.74 per animal. These figures reflect the actual operating costs (COE), i.e., the power is 75.78% and 74.77%, for male and female groups respectively. The total cost, decreased linearly (P < 0.05) with PAM 30 treatment costing the least at $ 47.90, which was $ 7.02 lower than the control. When assessing the net margin per kilogram among the female groups, we observed a quadratic effect (P < 0.01) with a maximum gain of 23.98% when adding PAM and $ 0.50 kg -1 . Our results show that the raising of lambs in semi-confinement was economically viable, and the addition of the aerial part of processed cassava in the feed presented a higher economic return. Further, the addition of aerial parts of cassava did not affect the performance of the lambs. ResumoObjetivou-se avaliar o desempenho produtivo e viabilidade econômica da inclusão da parte aérea de mandioca in natura na ração de cordeiros semi-confinados, em busca da redução parcial de alimentos concentrados. Foram utilizados 56 ovinos da raça Pantaneira, sendo 28 machos e 28 fêmeas, com idade média de 75 dias, pesos médios de 18,84kg ± 2,02, avaliados durante os meses de janeiro a março de 2015, totalizando 65 dias. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos inteiramente casualizados com quatro tratamentos, cada um com 7 fêmeas e 7 machos, sendo que foram divididos de forma que os pesos e os animais fossem o mais homogêneos. Cada grupo de 14 animais recebeu um dos quatro tratamentos: Controle; tratamento com adição de 10% PAM em substituição ao concentrado; tratamento com adição de 20% de PAM em substituição ao concentrado e tratamento com adição de 30% de PAM em substituição ao concentrado. O valor de ganho médio total (GPT) dos cordeiros machos foi 26,89% superior aos ganhos observados no grupamento de fêmeas. Com base no centro de custos foi observado efeito linear (P < 0,01) decrescente no valor da alimentação para os grupamentos de macho e fêmea. Sendo o tratamento controle o maior dispêndio no período com R$ 5...

Pruning as a strategy to improve the nutritional value of the aerial parts of industry- purpose cassava clones

“…The mean DM of clone 117/09 was statistically higher than those of the other clones evaluated, both with (25.5%), and without (33.8 %) pruning. The results obtained in this study are similar to those reported in other studies (FERNANDES et al, 2016;SALLES et al, 2016;HUE et al, 2012;MOREIRA et al, 2017;PEREIRA et al, 2017) for cassava DM, with values between 21.2 and 30%, and within the values suggested by Fluck et al (2017) for good conservation of the aerial part of cassava in the form of silage. Table 4.…”