Partial or total replacement of commercial concentrate with on-farm-grown mulberry forage: effects on lamb growth and feeding costs

Abstract

Replacing commercial concentrate with mulberry foliage was evaluated in a feeding trial lasting 126 days. Forty-eight weaned male Pelibuey lambs (20.6 ± 0.80 kg of BW) were randomly allocated to four groups: (1) supplementing the basal diet with mulberry at 1% (DM basis; M-1), (2) mulberry at 0.75% plus 0.1 kg concentrate fresh matter basis (M-0.75), (3) mulberry at 0.50% plus 0.2 kg concentrate (M-0.50) and (4) basal diet plus 0.3 kg concentrate (control; M-0). During the first 90 days, the basal diet was Pennisetum purpureum forage which was substituted by a mixture of guinea grass and sugarcane from 90 days. Average daily gain (ADG, g/day), dry matter intake (DMI) and feed conversion rate (FCR; DMI/ADG) were determined. The ADG was affected (P < 0.01) by the diet, with the lowest obtained in M-1 lambs (71 ± 6.4 g/day), whereas no differences among the other groups were observed (94 ± 6.4 g DM/lamb). The DMI was higher (P < 0.01) in M-0 (937 g DM/lamb) which concomitantly affected differences in FCR (11.9, 9.9, 10.5 and 9.7 kg DMI/kg BW gain for M-1, M-0.75, M-0.50 and M-0 lambs, respectively). Final BW at slaughtering and hot or cold carcass yields were coherent with growth rate findings. Biological yield (cold carcass weight/empty BW) was higher (P < 0.01) in M-0.75. Without compromising animal productivity, replacing imported concentrate with mulberry reduced the feeding cost. Optimum results were obtained with M-75 diet. Further studies must be conducted for optimizing energy/protein ratios with different ingredients while increasing DMI and lamb growth rates in this tropical genotype.

Substitution of mulberry leaf meal on feed intake, body weight and carcass characteristics of Tigray highland lambs

“…In line with the current study, Atiso et al (2012) reported that increasing total DM intake with substitution of 50% of mulberry leaves for concentrate mix compared to sole concentrate mixture supplementation in dairy cows. Nevertheless, Contrary to the present study, (Alpízar-Naranjo et al 2017)reported that the diet supplemented by sole mulberry foliage and that supplemented by whole commercial concentrate showed, respectively, the lower and higher values of total feed intake throughout the whole experimental period. The increased NDF and ADF intake as the proportion of mulberry leaf meal increases obtained in the current study suggests the relatively increased barley straw intake observed and relatively higher fiber fraction in mulberry than that of the concentrate diet.…”

Effect of cellulase and Lactobacillus casei on ensiling characteristics, chemical composition, antioxidant activity, and digestibility of mulberry leaf silage

“…The mulberry field area of China has been estimated to be 700,000 ha, yielding substantial production of 15 to 37 t of mulberry leaves per hectare (Han, 2006). Furthermore, it is documented that the digestible energy and CP value of mulberry leaves could be as high as those of alfalfa hay (Doran and Laca, 2007), and they could partially substitute for expensive supplements in bovine diets with little damage to animal performance (Habib et al, 2016;Alpízar-Naranjo et al, 2017;Tesfay et al, 2018). Meanwhile, the mulberry plant is a conventional herb with multiple pharmacological functions (Thaipitakwong et al, 2018;Yu et al, 2018).…”

Quantification of Water, Protein and Soluble Sugar in Mulberry Leaves Using a Handheld Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Multivariate Analysis

“…Zhu [6] added 15% mulberry leaf powder to the finished pigs' diet and found that it can change the muscle fiber properties, resulting in enhanced antioxidant capacity and increased intramuscular fat to improve meat quality. At present, the demand of mulberry leaves is increasing in the livestock industry [7]. However, differences in a mulberry growth environment and field management can result in quality differences of mulberry leaves [8].…”