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Four male local “Yellow” cattle with average weight of 80±8.9 kg were allocated in a 2*2 factorial arrangement within a 4*4 Latin Square design (LS). The factors were supplements (fresh water hyacinth leaf and ensiled water hyacinth leaf) and basal diets (untreated rice straw and urea-lime treated rice straw). This experiment aimed to evaluate the ensiled and fresh water hyacinth leaves as a supplement in a basal diet of cassava hay or of untreated and urea-lime treated rice straw on Nitrogen balance in local Yellow cattle. All animals received cassava hay at level of 1% of dry matter of body weight and untreated rice straw or urea-lime treated rice straw and either ensiled water hyacinth or fresh water hyacinth which were fed ad libitum to the animals.
Dry matter intake as percentage of live weight was not different for all treatments EWL-RS, EWL-RSUL, FWL-RS and FWL-RSUL which the value were 2.50%, 2.42%, 2.76% and 2.92% respectively. However, there were significant different for each period, animals and the form of fed water hyacinth. Digestibility of dry matter was significant different for periods and animals but not for the treatments. N-retention was different in the periods, animals and the form of fed rice straw but not for the treatments. It is concluded that ensiled water hyacinth leaves gave poorer N-retention values than the fresh form due to actual or artificial fermentation condition.
In developing countries like Cambodia, particularly in the dry season when green grasses are generally scarce, crop residues (in most cases rice straw) play an important role as feed resources for ruminants. Containing high fibre, low nitrogen, vitamins and minerals are the disadvantages of using this kind of resources that leading to low nutrient intake, digestibility, and low performance in animals fed on diets based on crop residues (Preston and Leng, 2009). A combination of crop residues and green forage supplements can be achieved in improvement of cattle performance. Water plants usually have the advantage of being high in protein, unlike many high yielding tropical forages (Gaffer 1981). As suppliers of dry matter, "good forage", starting substrate for cellulolytic bacteria or protein, water plants appear to have a role to play in feeding of ruminants. Van Soest (1982) and Osman et al (1975) reported that there have been few studies on assessment of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crasspipes) as a feed resource for ruminants.
Several authors (Mako et al 2010; Upadhyay et al 2007; Dolberg et al 1981) reported that water hyacinth distributes many problems to environment particularly to water way and spend lots of money and action on controlling it. It impacts on water flow, blocks water way and sunlight from reaching native aquatic plants, and starve the water of oxygen. Based on these reasons, water hyacinths should be removed from water surfaces to limit disadvantage effects of the plant (Skinner 2007) and be utilized as feed for livestock. Water hyacinth has been suggested as a good quality forage and is commonly used as a forage for cattle which could be used as a supplement to a basal diet of sugar cane or molasses, and possibly also cereal straws (Preston personal communication). Preston and Leng (2009) suggested that small amounts of supplements that provide essential nutrients to the basal feed can achieve large improvements in ruminant productivity and efficiency of feed utilization from low quality forages. Having followed this idea, water hyacinth can be a source of supplement to cattle fed rice straw-based diet. Mako et al (2010) concluded water hyacinth can be useful protein supplement in ruminant feeding due to its nutrient composition. The enhanced values of metabolizable energy and short chain fatty acid in water hyacinth imply its ability to meet the energy requirements of tropical ruminants. A recent study (Cheat Sophal et al 2010) shown that feeding water hyacinth leaves (but not the whole aerial plant) in fresh form to growing cattle on a basal diet of rice straw provided a source of by-pass protein (cassava hay) could be effective as a source of rumen nutrients. However, when feeding the fresh water hyacinth leaves or the whole aerial parts without cassava hay, cattle lost weight. Hentges (1970) and Khan (1977) also reported that cattle could not eat enough green water hyacinth to cover their maintenance requirement; therefore the animals lost 23 g/day of live weight. Yet, there is another way to improve the feeding value of water hyacinth in order to utilize it effectively.
Ensiling is a conventional technology for improvement and preservation of the feed. Nguyen Thanh Van and Nguyen Van Thu (2010) suggested that water hyacinth could be a good silage (sour vinegar smell and light yellow color) when ensiling with 11.5% molasses (DM basis). Similarly to the result reported by Cheat Sophal (2010) (unpublished) that the pH value went down dramatically from 6.0 at day1 to 4.1 at day7 when water hyacinth was ensiled with sugar palm syrup at the level of 4% and did not change (pH around 6) when ensiled with taro foliage (Colocasia esculenta). As laid down by these results, water hyacinth can be ensiled with sugar palm syrup at 4% to be used in this present experiment.
Cassava (Manihot esculenta) foliage has high protein (25%) content and is recognized by many researchers in Asia as a potential feed supplement for cattle (Wanapat et al 2001; Man and Wiktorsson 2001). Wanapat (2001) shown that sun-drying also eliminate more than 90% of hydro-cyanic acid (HCN) and enhance the palatability and long-term storage. As cassava hay contains condensed tannins (3.9-4.3%), it could be useful as a source of bypass protein. Khang and Wiktorsson (2006) found that cassava leaf meal at the level of 18% of dry matter in the diet increased the intake, rumen ammonia nitrogen, rumen microflora population and degradability of feeds. It had a high level of crude protein, high degradability by ruminants and proved to be an excellent feed as a supplement in diets based on urea treated rice straw. Digestibility and intake studies in cattle resulted in relatively high values, which indicate that cassava hay in palatable and highly digestible (Wanapat 2001). This finding considered that cassava hay can be a source of bypass protein which it is extremely needed to incorporate with other supplements such as water hyacinth. Sophal et al (2010) reported that when cassava hay was fed growth rates were higher when the leaves of water hyacinth were given as the rumen supplement with no difference between water hyacinth leaves plus stem and the urea-mineral mixture. In the absence of cassava hay, the cattle fed either leaves or leaves plus stem of water hyacinth lost body weight while those fed the urea-mineral mixture gained in weight. It is recommended that the limiting factors in water hyacinth foliage are the presence of anti-nutritional factors the negative effects of which are exacerbated at low levels of dietary crude protein, thus cassava hay could complement this process and still needed to come to play a role of providing source of protein rich forage, as by-pass protein, with the following treatments of fresh or ensiled water hyacinth leaves in each cases with or without rice straw.
Water hyacinth leaf silage is more palatable, and will enhance better N-balance of local “Yellow” cattle than the fresh from
Water hyacinth leaf silage can be used as basal diet replacing rice straw or cassava hay providing adequate rumen supplement
Water hyacinth ought to be ensiled to reduce or eliminate its negative feeding value
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of ensiled and fresh water hyacinth leaves as a supplement in a basal diet of cassava hay or of untreated and urea-lime treated rice straw on nitrogen balance in local Yellow cattle.
The experiment was carried out in the Animal Research Station of the Faculty of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Royal University of Agriculture (RUA), Phnom Penh city, Kingdom of Cambodia, for 2.5 months from 01 February to 15 April, 2011, including adaptation and refresh time.
The experiment was designed as a 2*2 factorial arrangement within a 4*4 Latin Square Design (LSD). The factors were:
Supplement:
Fresh water hyacinth leaf (FWL)
Ensiled water hyacinth leaf (EWL)
Basal diet:
Untreated rice straw (RS)
Urea-lime treated rice straw (RSUL)
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Table 1: Layout of the experiment |
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Periods/cattle |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
1 |
FWL-RSUL |
EWL-RSUL |
EWL-RS |
FWL-RS |
|
2 |
EWL-RS |
FWL-RS |
EWL-RSUL |
FWL-RSUL |
|
3 |
FWL-RS |
EWL-RS |
FWL-RSUL |
EWL-RSUL |
|
4 |
EWL-RSUL |
FWL-RSUL |
FWL-RS |
EWL-RS |
Water hyacinth leaves as in the fresh form will be collected daily from a lagoon nearby RUA while water hyacinth silage will have been made one month prior to the experiment started. Water hyacinth leaves will be wilted in the room condition for overnight and then chopped into 3-5 cm and ensiled with sugar-palm syrup at a level of 4% in plastic bags. The ensiled water hyacinth leaves will be fed to cattle after at least 21 days of ensiling. The sugar-palm syrup will be bought from the sugar palm stock from a market close to the experimental site for ensiling water hyacinth. Fresh cassava foliage will be bought from farm households in Kampong Cham province at the time of harvesting the root or the time of branching (generally about 2 months after plantation) for making hay. The whole aerial part of cassava plant will be collected for sun drying except the hard stem. The drying will be made on a plastic sheet placed on the ground for about 5-7 days until the leaves are dry or become crisp (dry matter>85%). Rice straw will be bought from the same household or where there have the same time of harvesting. Rice straw for treatment will be in the long form treated with quick lime (87% CaO) at 3% (w/w) in combination with urea (46% N) at 2% (w/w). The treatment chemicals will be dissolved in required amounts of water to get 50% moisture content for the treated straw then kept in plastic bags at room temperature for 21 days before feeding.
All animals received a basal diet of cassava hay at level of 1% in dry matter of body weight and untreated rice straw or urea-lime treated rice straw and either ensiled water hyacinth or fresh water hyacinth will be fed ad libitum to the animals. The fresh and ensiled water hyacinth will be given as the first feed in the morning at 07:00h and follow by cassava hay and rice straw.
Feed offered will be weighed daily before being given to the cattle and feed refusals, feces and urine will also be collected and weighed to measure the feed intake and N balance. Representative samples of feeds offered, refusals feces and urine will be collected for chemical analysis. The live weight of the cattle will be taken at the beginning and at the end of each period of the experiment. Samples of rumen fluid will be taken by stomach suction tube after 2 hours morning feeding at day1, day3 and day5 and kept in a freezer afterward for further analysiChemical analysis
Fresh water hyacinth leaves, water hyacinth leaves silage, cassava hay, untreated rice straw, urea-lime treated rice straw, feed refusals, urine and feces will be analyzed for dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N) and ash will be analyzed following the methods of AOAC (1990). Rumen fluid will be measured pH and analyzed for rumen ammonia (NH3-N).The rumen pH will be measured immediately with a digital pH meter after taking fluid from the animal’s rumen. The samples of rumen fluid for NH3-N analysis will be added 0.3 ml of 50% H2SO4 into 15.0 ml of rumen fluid in order to inactivate the activities of microorganisms (Korhonen et al 2002) and stored in a freezer at -20oC.
Data of feed intake, N intake, live weight, pH and NH3-N will be analyzed with the Generalized Linear Model option of the ANOVA program in the MINITAB software (Version 13.31) (Minitab 2000). Sources of variation are treatments periods and animals. When there will be a significant difference at P<0 05, then means will be compared by using Tukey’s procedure of the same MINITAB software. When there will be trends in animal responses, linear regression will be calculated using the same MINITAB software.
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