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Intake, digestibility and rumen dynamics of neutral detergent fibre in cattle fed low-quality tropical forage and supplemented with nitrogen and/or starch

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Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of nitrogenous compounds and/or starch supplementation on the intake, digestibility and rumen dynamics of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) in cattle fed low-quality tropical forage. Four crossbred heifers (Holstein × Zebu) with a body weight 231.9 ± 15.5 kg and fitted with ruminal cannulae were used. The forage fed to the animals consisted of low-quality signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens Stapf.) hay, with an average crude protein (CP) level of 51.6 g/kg, on a dry matter (DM) basis. Four treatments were evaluated: control, without supplementation; supplementation with nitrogenous compounds (CP of the roughage was raised to 100 g/kg), on a DM basis; supplementation with starch at a ratio of 200 g/kg DM of roughage; and supplementation with nitrogenous compounds and starch as described above. A mixture of urea, ammonium sulphate and albumin was used as a source of nitrogenous compounds at a ratio of 4.5:0.5:1.0. The experiment was carried out according to a 4 × 4 Latin square design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. There was a positive effect of the nitrogenous compound supplementation on the DM and NDF intake (P < 0.01). In contrast, starch supplementation decreased forage intake (P < 0.10). Nitrogen supplementation increased the digestibility coefficient of DM and NDF (P < 0.05). Supplementation with nitrogen and starch together increased the microbial assimilation of nitrogenous compounds in the rumen (P < 0.05). We observed that nitrogen supplementation increased the estimated weighted degradation rate of NDF by 14.8%, whilst starch supplementation decreased this rate by 32.5%.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) for financial support.

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  1. Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36571-000, Brazil

    Marjorrie A. Souza, Edenio Detmann, Mário F. Paulino, Cláudia B. Sampaio, Ísis Lazzarini & Sebastião C. Valadares Filho

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  1. Marjorrie A. Souza
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  2. Edenio Detmann
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  3. Mário F. Paulino
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  6. Sebastião C. Valadares Filho
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Correspondence to Edenio Detmann.

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Souza, M.A., Detmann, E., Paulino, M.F. et al. Intake, digestibility and rumen dynamics of neutral detergent fibre in cattle fed low-quality tropical forage and supplemented with nitrogen and/or starch. Trop Anim Health Prod 42, 1299–1310 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-010-9566-6

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