Effect of feeding protein according to ARC and NRC recommendations on dry matter intake, digestibility and production performance in crossbred cows in late lactation
Introduction
Although the Agriculture Research Council (ARC, 1984) and National Research Council (NRC, 1989) protein systems for dairy cattle are both based on the requirements of rumen microbes and the host animal, the undegraded dietary protein (UDP) recommended by the NRC (NRC-UDP) is approximately 30% higher than the UDP recommended by the ARC (ARC-UDP). Comparison of NRC and ARC protein feeding in mid and late lactation cows producing upto 30 kg of milk per day revealed that the ARC-UDP is adequate (Robinson and Kennelly, 1988; Robinson et al., 1991). The difference between ARC-UDP and NRC-UDP for milk production in the range of 5 to 10 kg is about 315 g per day. In view of the shortage of feeds and fodders in the developing countries, a considerable saving in protein feeding can be achieved, if the ARC recommendation can be adopted for low producers. However, Ramachandra and Sampath (1995)reported that in crossbred cows (400 kg body weight) in early lactation fed with rice (Oryza sativa) straw and para grass (Brachiaria mutica) as the roughage, the supply of UDP at levels higher than the NRC-UDP increased milk yield from 8.5 to 10.0 kg, in spite of providing adequate RDP according to the NRC (1989)recommendations. This has resulted in a dilemma as to whether ARC-UDP or NRC-UDP should be adopted to crossbred cows fed on crop residues and medium quality compound feeds.
The requirement for UDP at higher levels of milk production is a consequence of the inability of the cows to eat adequate dry matter to produce microbial protein in quantities sufficient to meet the tissue requirement. With low quality roughages and compound feeds, microbial protein flow to the duodenum may be limited by inadequate rumen fermentable dry matter intake and/or lower microbial efficiency in the rumen. Nevertheless, in late lactation cows and in cows with low production levels, since the requirement for metabolizable protein is reduced and the feed consumption is more relative to milk production, rumen microbial protein may be sufficient to meet the tissue requirement. Although crossbred cows in India reaching a peak milk yield of 30 kg per day is not unusual, the average milk yield is not more than 8 kg per day. Under such circumstance, if ARC-UDP can be adopted, the feeding cost can be minimized to that extent. Therefore, this study was undertaken to examine whether feeding higher levels of UDP as recommended by NRC has any advantage over feeding of UDP as recommended by the ARC in crossbred cows fed with straw as the sole source of roughage.
Section snippets
Animals and diet
Eight multiparous crossbred cows (Holstein Friesian×Bos indicus, or Jersey×Bos indicus) in late-lactation, inseminated but too early for pregnancy confirmation, were divided into two groups of four each based on the comparable milk yield, body weight, number of lactations completed and days in lactation (Gp I 216, Gp II 217). The experimental animals, housed in individual stalls, were provided with similar managemental practices.
The diet of the experimental cows included mixed straw of finger
Lactation trial
The chemical composition of FM-P and CFM (for the three composite samples collected during the experimental period) is presented in Table 2.
Discussion
The CFM of Gp I and Gp II differed in chemical composition, ME content and RDP : UDP ratio. The protease insoluble protein (PIP) of CFM for Gp I and FM-P agreed closely with the UDP content calculated from the published dacron bag data (Sampath, 1990). Although the PIP of the CFM for Gp II was lower (48 g/kg) than the calculated UDP (59 g/kg), the difference between the two diets in UDP content was sufficiently large as desired.
Although the total DMI for Gp II was significantly higher than for Gp
Conclusions
Feeding of protein according to NRC (1989)recommendations improved N balance but had no influence on roughage DMI, milk yield and milk composition as compared to feeding protein according to ARC (1984). Therefore, protein feeding according to ARC may be adequate to support the low levels of milk production (7 kg d) in crossbred cows fed on low quality roughages. Since the difference between the ARC and NRC protein feeding recommendation at this level of production is about 315 g, adoption of the
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank M/s Mysore Feeds Bangalore, India, for providing the supplements. This work was a part of the project `Studies on nitrogen utilization in ruminants' (DR/UAS/9 and 11/96) jointly sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany in the form of equipment donation and the University of Agricultural Sciences, Hebbal, Bangalore, India.
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