Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-5nwft Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-06T06:43:01.076Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Intake and digestibility of low quality roughages when supplemented with leguminous browse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

A. V. Goodchild  and
N. P. McMeniman
A. V. Goodchild
Affiliation:
Department of Farm Animal Medicine and Production, The University of Queensland, 4067, Australia
N. P. McMeniman
Affiliation:
Department of Farm Animal Medicine and Production, The University of Queensland, 4067, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

In the first two of four experiments, sheep were fed, ad libitum, sorghum stover supplemented with graded levels of foliage of the shrub leucaena (Leucaena leucocephald) or mulga (Acacia aneura), which provided between 0 and 0·34 or between 0 and 0·43 of the dietary dry matter (DM) respectively. A second treatment (with or without urea) was superimposed in a factorial design. The effect of treatments on liveweight (LW) was explainable by their effects on voluntary intake of apparently digestible organic matter (DOMI). D0M1 was increased by mulga, largely due to an increase in the total voluntary intake of organic matter (OM). Leucaena increased DOMI by increasing the ration OM digestibility and, at low levels of inclusion, intake of the basal diet. Roughage intake was greatest when leucaena provided 0·15–0·20 of the dietary DM. Leucaena increased rumen ammonia, and whenever roughage intake was increased by urea, leucaena also increased it.

In the third experiment, when diets were made isonitrogenous with urea, roughage intake was slightly greater when leucaena, rather than its ash or a mineral mixture, was supplemented. Total OM intake and DOMI were greatest when leucaena was fed.

In the final experiment, sheep were fed one of ten treatments: three basal diets (two of sorghum stover and the third of native pasture hay) each supplemented with legumes (leucaena to the hay and one stover diet and cowpea straw to the second stover diet), ash of the respective legume and formaldehyde-treated casein. The tenth treatment was sorghum stover plus urea. For sorghum stover diets with leucaena-based or cowpea straw-based supplements, DOMI responded linearly to the nonurea nitrogen concentration of the diet. On the other hand, for native hay with leucaena-based supplements, the response of DOMI to non-urea N was negligible. It was noted that the native hay (predominantly Flinders grass, Iseilema vaginiflorum), contained lower concentrations of polyphenols than sorghum stover.

It was concluded that browse foliage can increase the voluntary DOMI of sheep consuming low quality roughages by providing nitrogen and sometimes minerals and OM of greater digestibility. The slowly-degradable proteins in leucaena, cowpea straw or formaldehyde-treated casein are more effective with polyphenol-rich sorghum stover than with native hay of otherwise similar composition.

Type
Animals
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 122 , Issue 1 , February 1994 , pp. 151 - 160
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agricultural Research Council (1980). The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock.Slough: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Agricultural Research Council (1984). Report of the Protein Group of the Agricultural Research Council Working Party on the Nutrient Requirements of Ruminants. Slough: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Akin, D. E., Gordon, G. L. R. & Hogan, J. P. (1983). Rumen bacterial and fungal degradation of Digitaria pentzii grown with or without sulfur. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 46, 738–748.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baldwin, R. L. & Koong, L. J. (1980). Mathematical modelling in analyses of ruminant digestive function: philosophy, methodology and application. In Digestive Physiology and Metabolism in Ruminants (Eds Ruckebusch, Y. & Thivend, P.), pp. 251–268. Westport, Connecticut: Avi Publishing Company.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bamualim, A., Stachiw, S., Jones, R. J. & Murray, R. M. (1984). The effect of fresh Leucaena leucocephala as a supplement on the utilization of pasture hay by goats. In Proceedings of the Australian Societv of Animal Production 15, 259–262.Google Scholar
Banda, J. L. L. & Ayoade, J. A. (1986). Leucaena leaf hay (Leucaena leucocephala cv. Peru) as protein supplement for Malawian goats fed chopped maize stover. In Towards Optimal Feeding of Agricultural By-Products to Livestock in Africa (Eds Preston, T. R. & Nuwanyakpa, M. Y.), pp. 124–128. Proceedings of a Workshop held at the University of Alexandria, Egypt, October 1985. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Arnab, International Livestock Centre for Africa.Google Scholar
Bate-Smith, E. C. (1973). Haemanalysis of tannins: the concept of relative astringency. Phytochemistry 12, 907–912.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewbaker, J. L., MacDicken, K. & Withington, D. (1985). Leucaena Forage Production and Use. Waimanalo, Hawaii: Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association.Google Scholar
Burroughs, W., Gerlaugh, P. & Bethke, R. M. (1950). The influence of alfalfa hay and fractions of alfalfa hay upon the digestion of ground corncobs. Journal of Animal Science 9, 207–213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Butter, Worth M. H. (1967). The digestibility of tropical grasses. Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews 37, 349–368.Google Scholar
Cotta, M. A. & Hespell, R. B. (1986). Protein and amino acid metabolism of rumen bacteria. In Control of Digestion and Metabolism in Ruminants (Eds Milligan, L. P., Grovum, W. L. & Dobson, A.), pp. 122–136. Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Ruminant Physiology, Banff, Canada, September 10–14, 1984. Englewood Cliffs, Nj: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Cummins, D. G. (1971). Relationships between tannin content and forage digestibility in sorghum. Agronomy Journal 63, 500–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Devendra, C. (1983). Physical treatment of rice straw for goats and sheep and the response to substitution with variable levels of cassava (Manihot esculenta Grantz), leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) and gliricidia (Gliricidia maculata) forages. Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute Research Bulletin 11, 272–280.Google Scholar
Egan, A. R. (1977). Nutritional status and intake regulation in sheep. VIII. Relationships between the voluntary intake of herbage by sheep and the protein/energy ratio in the digestion products. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 28, 907–915.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Egan, A. R. & Moir, R. J. (1965). Nutritional status and intake regulation in sheep. 1. Effects of duodenally infused single doses of casein, urea, and propionate upon voluntary intake of a low-protein roughage by sheep. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 16, 437–449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, R. & Armstrong, D. G. (1982). The effect of urea and urea plus sodium sulphate on microbial protein production in the rumens of sheep given diets high in alkali-treated barley straw. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 99, 51–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, R. & McMeniman, N. P. (1987). Supplementation of ruminant diets with forage. In The Nutrition of Herbivores (Eds Hacker, J. B. & Ternouth, J. H.), pp. 409–428. Sydney: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Elliott, R., McMeniman, N. P., Norton, B. W. & Calderon, Cortés F. J. (1984). The food intake response of sheep fed five roughage sources supplemented with formaldehyde treated casein with and without urea. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 15, 337–340.Google Scholar
Ferguson, K. A., Hemsley, J. A. & Reis, P. J. (1967). Nutrition and wool growth. The effect of protecting dietary protein from microbial degradation in the rumen. Australian Journal of Science 30, 215–217.Google Scholar
Goering, H. K. & Van Soest, P. J. (1970). Forage Fiber Analysis. Usda Agricultural Handbook, No. 379.Google Scholar
Goodchild, A. V. (1990). Use of leguminous browse foliage to supplement low quality roughages for ruminants. Phd thesis, University of Queensland.Google Scholar
Goodchild, A. V. & McMeniman, N. P. (1991). Disappearance of sorghum stover polyphenols and browse condensed tannins in the sheep gut. Paper presented at the British Society of Animal Production's Occasional Meeting on Animal Production in Developing Countries held at Wye College, Kent, 2–4 September 1991.Google Scholar
Hume, I. D. (1970). Synthesis of microbial protein in the rumen. III. The effect of dietary protein. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 21, 305–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, W. T. & Mangan, J. L. (1977). Complexes of the condensed tannins of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) with fraction 1 leaf protein and with submaxillary mucoprotein, and their reversal by polyethylene glycol and pH. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 28, 126–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, P. M. & Siebert, B. D. (1972). The utilisation of spear grass (Heteropogon contortus). II. The influence of sulphur on energy intake and rumen and blood parameters in cattle and sheep. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 23, 45–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langlands, J. P., Sutherland, H. A. M. & Playne, M. J. (1973). Sulphur as a nutrient for Merino sheep. 2. The utilization of sulphur in forage diets. British Journal of Nutrition 30, 537–543.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leche, T. F., Groenendy, G. H., Westwood, N. H. & Jones, M. W. (1982). Composition of Animal Feedstuffs in Australia. Australian Feeds Information Centre, CSIRO Division of Animal Production.Google Scholar
Leng, R. A. (1984). Supplementation of tropical and subtropical pastures for ruminant production. In Herbivore Nutrition in the Subtropics and Tropics (Eds Gilchrist, F. M. C. & Mackie, R. I.), pp. 129–144. Craighall: Science Press.Google Scholar
McMeniman, N. P., Ben-Ghedalia, D. & Elliott, R. (1976). Sulphur and cystine incorporation into rumen microbial protein. British Journal of Nutrition 36, 571–574.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McMeniman, N. P., Elliott, R. & Ash, A. J. (1988). Supplementation of rice straw with crop by-products. I. Legume straw supplementation. Animal Feed Science and Technology 19, 43–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minson, D. J. (1982). Effects of chemical and physical composition of herbage eaten upon intake. In Nutritional Limits to Animal Production from Pastures (Ed. Hacker, J. B.), pp. 167–182. Slough: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
National Academy Of Sciences. (1971). A this of Nutritional Data on United States and Canadian Feeds. Washington Dc: Nas.Google Scholar
Ndlovu, L. R. & Buchanan-Smith, J. G. (1987). The effect of supplementing corn cobs with lucerne hay, lucerne cell wall, a soybean protein isolate or higher fatty acids on intake, ruminal degradation and rate of passage in sheep. In Herbivore Nutrition Research (Ed. Rose, M.), pp. 189–190. International Symposium of Herbivores held at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 07 6–10, 1987.Google Scholar
Pisulewski, P. M., Okorie, A. U., Buttery, P. J., Haresign, W. & Lewis, D. (1981). Ammonia concentration and protein synthesis in the rumen. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 32, 759–766.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Playne, M. J. & Kennedy, P. M. (1976). Ruminal volatile fatty acids and ammonia in cattle grazing dry tropical pastures. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 86, 367–372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preston, T. R. (1982). A strategy for the efficient utilisation of crop residues and agro-industrial by-products in animal production based on their nutritional constraints. In Fao, Crop Residues and Agro-Industrial By-products in Animal Feeding pp. 29–47. Proceedings of a FAO/ILCA workshop held in Dakar, Senegal, 21–25 09, 1982.Google Scholar
Reed, J. D. (1986). Relationships among soluble phenolics, insoluble proanthocyanadins and fibre in East African browse species. Journal of Range Management 39, 5–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rose-Innes, R. (1965). The concept of the ‘woody pasture’ in low-altitude tropical tree savanna environments. Proceedings of the 9th International Grasslands Congress 2, 1419–1423.Google Scholar
Siebert, B. D. & Hunter, R. A. (1982). Supplementary feeding of grazing animals. In Nutritional Limits to Animal Product ion from Pastures (Ed. Hacker, J. B.), pp. 409–426. Slough: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Silva, A. T. & Ørskov, E. R. (1985). Effect of unmolassed sugar beet pulp on the rate of straw degradation in the rumens of sheep given barley straw. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 44, 50A.Google Scholar
Soetanto, H., Hume, I. D. & Leng, R. A. (1986). Importance of rumen anaerobic fungi in fibre digestion. In Ruminant Feeding Systems Utilising Fibrous Agricultural Residues-1985 (Ed. Dixon, R. M.), pp. 87–100. Canberra: International Development Program of Australian Universities and Colleges.Google Scholar
Stobbs, T. H., Minson, D. J. & McLeod, M. N. (1977). The response of dairy cows grazing a nitrogen fertilized grass pasture to a supplement of protected casein. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 89, 137–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swift, R. W., Cowan, R. L., Barron, G. P., Maddy, K.. H. & Grose, E. C. (1951). The effect of alfalfa ash upon roughage digestion in sheep. Journal of Animal Science 10, 434–438.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thornton, R. F. & Minson, D. J. (1973). The relationship between apparent retention time in the rumen, voluntary intake, and apparent digestibility of legume and grass diets in sheep. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 24, 889–898.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, A. J., Robards, G. E. & Saville, D. G. (1972). Metabolism of cystine by Merino sheep genetically different in wool production. II. The responses in wool growth to abomasal infusions of L-cystine or Dl-methionine. Australian Journal of Biological Sciences 25, 1269–1276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed