Nutrient Composition and Digestibility of Taro Leaf in the Diets of Chicken and Effects on the Meat Quality

Abstract

Introduction: the high cost of cereals and protein supplements and uncertainty about their sustainable supply for poultry pressed the need to search for other potential non-conventional feed sources which are relatively less used for human consumption. For stopping this problem the inclusion of taro leaf meals in poultry ration may supply high nutrients for the consumers because taro is multipurpose crop for food and feed sources. Taro leaf is rich in proteins and can be of supplementary protein, carotene and trace minerals in chicken diets. To achieve maximum efficiency in meat quality and production, properly balanced ration is a pre-requisite and taro could be possible alternative feed ingredients in this study.Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the feeding value of taro leaf in broiler rations which was conducted at Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center. Method and analysis:The study was carried out using four treatments in which the treatments were inclusion of TL at 0% (T1), 3% (T2), 5% (T3) and 7% (T4). The analysis undertaken in this study was feed DM, Crude Fiber (CF), Total Ash (TA), Ether Extract (EE), Crude Protein (CP) and functional properties (WHC, WA, WSI and WAI) of feed offered. The nutritional composition of chicken meat and cost benefit analysis were also evaluated to see the overall benefit of feeding taro. A total of eighty day-old Cobb500 broiler chicks were used for the study and lasted 56 days. At the end of the experiment, four birds were randomly taken from each pen and slaughtered for nutrient composition and protein quality analysis. Results:The result obtained from the study shows that variability was found as taro leaf level increase and from cost and benefit analyses of the study, taro leaf meal is cost effective meal when used as replacement of expensive and conventional meal in broilers rations Conclusion: Therefore, the present study encourage using taro leaf meal as a good source of nutrients for broilers like other tropical leaves

Utilization of Taro Leaves in Diet of the Nile Tilapia Oreochromis nloticus

“…The present results recorded that, taro leaves powder had a rich source of mainly essential amino and fatty acids which are highly important for fish health, especially the three amino acids (methionine, lysine, and tryptophan) and the unsaturated fatty acids, which compensate methionine deficiency in soy and corn (Raky, 2001;Temesgen et al, 2017;Lyu et al, 2019). Additionally, Jiang (1999) reported that taro leaves are rich in essential amino acids and its protein content is approximately 23%.…”

“…Compared to the corn, the amino acid and fatty acids composition of taro leaf were higher. Meanwhile, taro leaf has been considered as a good source of essential amino acid and fatty acid (Temesgen et al, 2017) and also, there is high ambivalence between the lysine, tryptophan, and methionine requirements for the tilapia. Mmanda et al (2020) reported that several local feed ingredients have the potential to supply the EAA required for proper fish growth and health.…”