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Workshop-Seminar on Making Better Use of Local Feed Resources. SAREC-UAF, January 2000

 

Cotton seed meal and cassava leaf meal as protein supplements for lactating goats

 

Duong Thanh Liem, Ngo van  Man, and Nguyen van Hao

University of Agriculture and Forestry, Ho Chí Minh city

Abstract

Cassava leaf meal, produced by sun-drying the foliage after harvesting the roots, which can yield up to 800 kg/ha, was compared with cottonseed cake and coconut cake as a protein source for lactating goats. The experiment was carried out in the goat farm of the UAF with six crossbred milking does (Anglo Nubian x Bach Thao) in their third and fourth lactation. The trial was conducted at 8 to 15 weeks post partum, beginning on 28 February, 1999. The treatments were: coconut meal (control), cottonseed cake (CSC) and cassava leaf meal (CLM), arranged in a double 3 x 3 Latin square design. Experimental periods were 16 days, with an adaptation period of 8 days preceding a recording period of 8 days. The protein meals were included at 20% of the concentrate supplement which was fed at the rate of 600 g/litre of milk.  The remainder of the diet was Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) fed ad libitum.

 

There were no differences in feed dry matter intake, milk yield and milk composition among the three treatments.  Weight changes during the experimental periods were positive and in favour of the cassava leaf meal treatment. 

 

Key words: Goats, Cassava leaf meal, cottonseed cake, coconut cake, protein, milk yield, mkilk composition

 

Introduction

Goat production in Viet Nam is still relatively undeveloped with the total herd at around 600 thousand heads. Almost all these goats are raised for meat and are located in the uplands, dry zones and mountainous areas with the most common feeding system being free grazing land not used for crop production. Production of dairy goats is a recent development, which is steadily increasing in importance as goat milk is appreciated as a valuable food for children and old people.  Production of goat cheese, which is a high value product, has had a good impact  in villages close to Hanoi in North Vietnam (Dinh Van Binh et al 2000).

 

Milking goats are usually raised in a zero-grazing (cut and carry) system. The animals are completely confined in their assigned pen, and grass and other green feeds are cut and carried to the pen.  In the peri-urban area of Ho Chi Minh city, it is common practice to use feeds formulated for pigs as the concentrate supplement.  Finding local feed resources that can be used to formulate concentrates for goats would help to lower feed costs and improve the profits for small-scale farmers.

Cassava is the main cash crop of the small-scale farmers that cultivate the sandy, acid soil of the South Eastern and Central regions of Vietnam. The cassava leaves, the residue after harvesting the roots, account for between 2500 and 3000 kg, from which 600 to 800 kg leaf meal per hectare can be produced (Duong Thanh Liem et al 1997). However, this resources is little used in practice. Another good protein source is cottonseed meal. Cotton is a relatively new crop in Vietnam, introduced after the war and now grown widely on the red soil of the South Eastern region. The by-product after extracting the oil is the cottonseed cake, which is a new product in the market in Vietnam, that has been used as a source of fertilizer with a low price.

 

These two feed resources have levels of 20 – 23 % of crude protein which could be used to replace part of the protein supplement in the ration of milking goats.
 

The following experiment was planned to evaluate cassava leaf meal and cottonseed meal as  substitutes for the coconut cake which is the conventional protein source in compound feeds for ruminants in Vietnam.

 

Materials and Methods

Location and design

The experiment was carried out in the goat farm of the UAF with six crossbred milking does (Anglo Nubian x Bach Thao) in their third and fourth lactation. The kidding period lasted from the end of December to the beginning of January and the trial was conducted at 8 to 15 weeks post partum, beginning on 28 February, 1999. The treatments were: coconut meal (control), cottonseed cake (CSC) and cassava leaf meal (CLM), arranged in a double 3 x 3 Latin square design. Experimental periods were 16 days, with an adaptation period of 8 days preceding a recording period of 8 days. The composition and analysis of the concentrates is in Table 1.

 

Housing and milking

The goats were housed in individual pens on raised slatted floors, with troughs for grass, concentrate and water (Photo 1). The kids were kept in a group separate from their mothers. Milking was done once per day in the morning. The kids were suckled by their mothers three times per day, being weighed before and after suckling to estimate the milk taken by the kids. Total milk produced per day is the sum of that taken at milking and during sucking.

 

 

 

 

Photo 1: Views of the goat barn and suckling after milking

 

Feeding

Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) was fed ad libitum.  The concentrate supplement was supplied according to milk production at the rate of 600 g to one litre of milk. The grass was offered 3 times per day at 8.00, 13.00 and 17.00 hours.  The concentrate was given once at 08.00 after milking.

 

Measurements

Intakes of grass and concentrate and milk yield were recorded daily. Milk samples were analysed for fat, protein and dry matter.

 

Statistical methods

The GLM of ANOVA in the Minitab (Released 11) software was used to analyse the following model:

Y_ij = p + does _i + periods _j + treatment _k(ij) + error _ij

(i = 6 does, j = 3 periods, k = 3 treatments; does= columns, periods = rows; p =overall mean)

 

Results and Discussion

Feed intake

There were no differences in feed intake among the treatments (Table 2) which were close to the recommended norms for lactating goats (Jarrige 1989).

 

Milk yield and composition

 

 

There were no differences in yield or in composition of the milk (Table 3).  All the goats gained in weight during the experimental periods (Figure 1). Those fed the supplement containing the cassava leaf meal gained more weight (P<0.05) than those given the coconut or cottonseed cake supplements.

 

These findings, which show that cassava leaf meal is as good a protein source as cottonseed cake for lactating goats, are supported by a number of reports in the literature indicating “bypass” or “escape” properties for the protein in cassava leaves (Ffoulkes and Preston 1978; Wanapat et al 1997;  Garcia and Hernandez 1996; Garcia and Herrera 1998; Doung Nguyen Khang et al 2000). 

 

Conclusions

• Cassava leaf meal produced from the forage residue in the harvesting of cassava roots can be used to replace a part of the protein supplement in the diet of lactating goat, with no harmful effects on animal performance.
• The nutritive value (“bypass” properties) of the protein in cassava leaf meal appears to be as high as that in cottonseed cake and coconut cake.

 

References

Dinh Van Binh, Nguyen Quang Suc, Nguyen Thi Mui and Le Viet Ly. 2000 Transfer of livestock technologies to farmers in Bavi and mountainous areas of NorthVietnam   In: Proceedings Seminar-Workshop “Making better use local feed resources” (Editors: T R Preston and R B Ogle). SAREC-UAF, Ho Chi Minh City, January 2000

 

Duong Nguyen Khang, Ngo Van Man and Wiktorsson H 2000 Substitution of cotton seed meal with cassava leaf meal in Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) diets for dairy cows. In: Proceedings Seminar-Workshop “Making better use local feed resources” (Editors: T R Preston and R B Ogle). SAREC-UAF, Ho Chi Minh City, January 2000

 

Duong Thanh Liem, Ngo van  Man, Nguyen P Loc, Nguyen van Hao and Bui Xuan An 1997 Cassava leaf meal in the animal feeding. Vietnam Cassava worshop, Institute of Scientific Agriculture of the South, 4-6/3/1997.

 

Ffoulkes D and Preston T R 1978 Cassava or sweet potato forage as combined sources of protein and roughage in molasses based diets: effect of  supplementation with soybean meal. Tropical Animal Production  (3) :186-192

 

Garcia  R L  and Hernandez  J M  1996  Cassava meal from the whole plant as a cereal replacer in dairy cow concentrates. Cuban J. Agric. Sci. 30: 245-259.

 

Garcia  R L  and Herrera J  1998  Milk production from pastures and cassava (Manihot esculenta) or sweet potato (Ipomea batata) integral forage plant supplementation. Cuban J. Agric. Sci. 1998. 32: 29-31.

  

Jarrige R 1989 Ruminant Nutrition: Recommended allowances and feed tables. INRA, Paris

 

Wanapat M, Pimpa O, Petlum A and Boontao U 1997 Cassava hay: A new strategic feed for ruminants during the dry season. Livestock Research for Rural Development  (9) 2:http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd9/2/metha92

 

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