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Tropical grass silages with spineless cactus in diets of Holstein × Zebu heifers in the semiarid region of Brazil

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Abstract

One of the factors that limit ruminant production in the semiarid region is the lack of roughage in the dry season. The management of forage plants adapted to edaphoclimatic conditions is a strategy to improve animal production. This study was conducted to examine the effects of biomass sorghum silage (BSS; Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and BRS capiaçu grass silage (CGS; Pennisetum purpureum Schum) with or without spineless cactus (Opuntia spp.) in crossbred Holstein × Zebu heifers’ diets on the intake, apparent digestibility of the nutrients and animal performance (e.g., final weight, daily weight gain) (experiment 1). Also, to evaluate the ruminal kinetics of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of roughages used in diets using two animals cannulated in the rumen (experiment 2). In experiment 1, ten heifers with an initial body weight of 200 ± 2.74 kg (mean ± standard deviation) and a mean age of 10 months were used. The animals were distributed in an experimental design in two simultaneous 5 × 5 Latin squares. Five experimental diets were used: diet 1, Volumax sorghum silage (VSS); diet 2, biomass sorghum silage (BSS); diet 3, BRS capiaçu silage (CGS); diet 4, biomass sorghum silage (60%) with spineless cactus (40%) (BSS + SC); and diet 5, BRS capiaçu grass silage (60%) with spineless cactus (40%) (CGS + SC). The diets were formulated with sorghum silage or BRS capiaçu grass silage with or without spineless cactus (roughage) and a maize- and soybean-based concentrate (75:25 roughage-to-concentrate ratio) on DM basis. The experiment lasted 105 days, divided into five periods of 21 days (17 days for the adaptation of the animals to the diets and management and 4 for data collection and samples). The diets containing CGS and CGS + SC resulted in lower dry matter intake (DMI; 5.61 kg day−1; P < 0.01), which was 19.4% lower than the diets with VSS, BSS, and BSS + SC (7.00 kg day−1). The BSS + SC and CGS + SC diets showed higher crude protein digestibility (P < 0.01) at 21.9% than the other treatments (Volumax, BSS, CGS). The different diets did not change the final weight or the daily weight gain of the heifers. The BRS 716 biomass sorghum silage and BRS capiaçu grass combined with spineless cactus increased (P < 0.05) the intake of nonfibrous carbohydrates and did not interfere (P > 0.05) with the final weight or average daily gain of the crossbred Holstein × Zebu heifers. The standardized potentially degradable fraction (Bp) of the NDF was 13.91% higher (P < 0.01) for BSS and BSS + SC (61.6%) compared to the others (53.0%). A diet based on BSS + SC is recommended for feeding crossbred heifers in the growing phase.

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The data that support this study will be shared upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Research Support Foundation of the State of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG). The State University of Montes Claros (Unimontes), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and at National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT–Animal Science) for assistance with scholarships/research.

Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior Brasil (CAPES) (Finance Code 001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Science and Technology, State University of Montes Claros, Avenue Reinaldo Viana, Janaúba, Minas Gerais, 2630, Brazil

    Matheus Wilson Silva Cordeiro, Vicente Ribeiro Rocha Júnior, Flávio Pinto Monção, João Paulo Sampaio Rigueira, Cinara da Cunha Siqueira Carvalho, Maria Dulcineia da Costa, Marcos Flávio Silveira Vasconcelos D’Angelo, Natanael Mendes Costa & Larissa Inácio Soares de Oliveira

  2. INCT- Animal Science Member, Janaúba, Brazil

    Vicente Ribeiro Rocha Júnior

  3. Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Viçosa, Av. Peter Henry Rolfs, S/N - Campus Universitário, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Malber Nathan Nobre Palma

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Matheus Wilson Silva Cordeiro, Vicente Ribeiro Rocha Júnior, Natanael Mendes Costa, Larissa Inácio Soares de Oliveira, and Flávio Pinto Monção. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Matheus Wilson Silva Cordeiro, Vicente Ribeiro Rocha Júnior, and Flávio Pinto Monção, and the other authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Cordeiro, M.W.S., Júnior, V.R.R., Monção, F.P. et al. Tropical grass silages with spineless cactus in diets of Holstein × Zebu heifers in the semiarid region of Brazil. Trop Anim Health Prod 55, 89 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-023-03506-6

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