Faculty of Agriculture

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://172.16.31.117:4000/handle/123456789/38

Browse

Browsing Faculty of Agriculture by Subject "and Qualit"

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Effect of Supplementation of Lactating Dairy Cows With Moringa Oleifera Lam. On Basal Feed Utilization, Milk Yield, and Quality
    (Egerton University, 2024-09) Alarape Omolara Latifat
    The primary factor limiting ruminant production in the tropics is the lack of a year-round supply of quality forage and protein supplements. Therefore, the use of underutilized shrubs and trees such as Moringa oleifera as a feed resource for ruminants is noteworthy due to its rich nutritional composition. This study investigated the use of Moringa as a feed supplement for dairy cows to improve feed utilization, milk yield, and quality. Proximate analysis and fibre assessments were used to assess the nutritional value of the feed ingredients. Nine lactating Holstein-Friesian cows (444±39.7 kg) in their early and mid-lactation were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments supplemented with 0, 5 and 10% of Moringa leaves on a dry matter basis in a randomised complete block design for eight weeks. The data was analysed using SAS, and the means were separated using Tukey's Test at P˂0.05. Moringa had the highest crude protein (295.05 g/kg DM), ether extract (82.51 g/kg DM), dry matter digestibility (782.42 g/kg DM), digestible energy (3.62 Mcal/kg), and metabolizable energy (2.97 Mcal/kg) compared with Lucerne. However, it had the least crude fibre (109.28 g/kg DM) and fibre fractions. Cows supplemented with Moringa leaves showed increased (P˂0.05) feed intake (15.33 kg DM/day), milk yield (4.14 L/day), milk energy output (12.03 MJ/day), energy corrected milk (3.87 kg/day), yield of milk components and milk production efficiency (0.26) compared to the control diet. There was no significant difference (P˃0.05) in the vitamin C content, milk energy content, and milk composition in terms of the total solids, fat, solids non-fat, protein, and lactose across all the treatments. The volume of gas produced consistently increased and was higher in Moringa-supplemented treatment (T3) at 24 hr (8.93 ml/200mg DM). T3 had the highest short-chain fatty acids (0.19 ml/200mg DM), and there was no significant difference (P=0.1087) across the treatments, but the least organic matter digestibility (20.68%) was recorded in T3. There was no significant difference in the pH, volatile fatty acids, methane gas production, microbial protein, and microbial mass, across the treatments. Compared with the control, Moringa leaves decreased (P˂0.05) the rumen protozoa and increased (P˂0.05) rumen Ammonia-N concentration. Moringa reflects a desirable nutritional balance, and its supplementation in the diet of dairy cows increased the feed intake, milk production, digestibility, and rumen fermentation with no effect on the milk composition. The findings imply that Moringa leaves can serve as a protein supplement (at a 10% inclusion level) for ruminants, including dairy cows, and a substitute for Lucerne, the major protein supplement used by ruminant producers in the tropics