Replacement of Tifton hay by spineless cactus in Girolando post-weaned heifers´ diets

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the effect of the Tifton 85 hay (Cynodon dactylon L. Pers) replacement by Orelha de Elefante Mexicana spineless cactus (Opuntia stricta [Haw.] Haw) on the nutrient intake and digestibility, growth performance, microbial protein synthesis, and efficiency of dietary nitrogen compound utilization in the diets of Girolando heifers. Twenty-four (3.5 months and 100 kg ± 3.5 kg) Girolando heifers (5/8 Holstein x Gyr) were used and arranged in a completely randomized design. Dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, and neutral detergent fiber decreased linearly as a function of the levels of Tifton hay (TH) replacement by Orelha de Elefante Mexicana spineless cactus (OEM). The non-fiber carbohydrate intake and coefficient of dry matter digestibility increased, while the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility decreased linearly with the OEM inclusion. After evaluating the growth performance by observing weight gain and morphometric measurements, there were no significant alterations. The urinary volume, nitrogen balance as well as the efficiency of nitrogen retention had increased, while the urinary and plasma urea concentrations had decreased linearly with the OEM inclusion. The results obtained in this study show that Orelha de Elefante Mexicana spineless cactus should replace Tifton hay in post-weaned heifer diets.

Sugarcane and cactus cladodes plus urea: a new option for Girolando dairy heifers

“…Facó et al (2005) noted that advanced age at first calving causes a negative impact for dairy farms. The current results and previous studies regarding Girolando heifers fed diets composed of cactus cladodes, urea, and tropical roughage as fiber and energy source and supplied with concentrate feed (Pessoa et al, 2017;Barros et al, 2018) suggest that diet is a feasible strategy to increase the performance of heifers during the growth stage. Interestingly, studies conducted under tropical conditions with different roughage, including corn silage, sugarcane, and sugarcane bagasse, showed that there is a need for higher concentrate amounts (2.00, 1.30, and 2.90 kg day −1 , respectively; Rangel et al, 2010;Inácio et al, 2017) to reach gains similar to or lower than (0.70 kg day −1 ) achieved in this study using cactus cladodes as the base for the heifers' diet.…”

“…In semiarid regions, the situation is more critical due to the low availability of forage during most of the year, justifying feedlot management (Ferreira et al, 2011). Barros et al (2018) and Pessoa et al (2017) showed the feasibility of using cactus cladodes with Tifton hay and sugarcane bagasse as fiber source in diets of crossbred heifers from two to six and 12 to 24 months of age. Cactus cladodes should not be provided to ruminants as an exclusive roughage source due to the low fiber content (Conceição et al, 2016) and the great agronomic and nutritional characteristics sugarcane presents as a potential fiber source in combination with cactus cladodes.…”

Which non-fibrous carbohydrates: neutral detergent fiber ratio optimizes the use of cactus cladodes in diets of growing heifers?

“…Therefore, due to the increase in the intake of NFC, the digestibility of fiber decreased, possibly due to the shorter duration of the diet in the rumen with the increase in the NFC:NDF ratio, as fiber has a direct effect on the digestion rate of the diet (Siqueira et al, 2017). Other studies have also observed reduced NDF digestibility with the inclusion of cactus cladodes in cattle diets (Barros et al, 2018;Siqueira et al, 2017).…”

“…Agrár. Londrina, v. 42, n. 6, suplemento 2, p. 3947-3960, 2021 volume (Barros et al, 2018;Cardoso et al, 2019;Rezende et al, 2020).…”

“…The cactus cladodes (Opuntia and Nopalea) have become one of the most important energy sources in dairy farms of semiarid regions (Monteiro et al, 2018;Soares et al, 2020). This cactus has high values of non-fibrous carbohydrates (528-545 g kg -1 of dry matter (DM)), low values of crude protein (CP) (51-64 g kg -1 of DM), and neutral detergent fiber (257-272 g kg -1 of DM) (Barros et al, 2018;Moraes et al, 2019). Furthermore, this plant presents DM and NDF disappearances of 606 g kg -1 of DM and 611 g kg -1 of NDF, after 12 and 48 hours of ruminal incubation, respectively (Batista, Mustafa, Wang, Soita, & McKinnon, 2003).…”