Barbera M, Mendoza-Grimón V, Espinosa J, Rodriguez-Ponce E, Gracia A, SanJuán E, Ventura M R
Department of Animal Science, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Arucas, Spain.
Instituto de Investigación IUNAT, Grupo GEOVOL, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2025 Jan 31;57(2):44. doi: 10.1007/s11250-025-04284-z.
This study evaluated the nutritional value and energy content of tedera (B. bituminosa var. bituminosa) and maralfalfa (Pennisetum purpureum) through analyses of chemical composition, digestibility, intake, and preference trials. Tedera was compared with maralfalfa and alfalfa hay (Medicago sativa). Tedera showed higher crude protein (193 g CP/kg DM) and estimated energy (10.5 MJ DE/kg DM) but lower dry matter (286.3 g DM/kg) and neutral detergent fiber (373 g NDF/kg DM) than both maralfalfa and alfalfa hay. The in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) of tedera was 61.7%, compared to 51.0% for alfalfa hay and 66.3% for maralfalfa. Digestible organic matter (DOM) ranged from 467 g/kg DM in alfalfa hay to 566.4 g/kg DM in tedera. Four Canary sheep with a mean body weight (BW) of 42.2 ± 5.0 kg were used for digestibility and preference trials. The live weights of the sheep were recorded at the start and end of the 12-day trial. Feed offered and refusals were weighed and recorded daily for eight days, while feces were collected for four days to calculate apparent in vivo digestibility. For tedera, the apparent in vivo OM digestibility, estimated digestible energy, and digestible organic matter were 69.4%, 11.8 MJ/kg DM, and 637.7 g/kg DM, respectively. Preference and feed intake were compared between tedera, maralfalfa and alfalfa hay. Total DM consumption was 1091.3 g/day (tedera + maralfalfa + alfalfa hay), with alfalfa hay intake representing 40.8%, maralfalfa 37.3%, and tedera 21.9% of the total DM consumed. However, no significant differences were observed in the ratio of forages consumed/offered (44.8% for tedera and 51.8% for maralfalfa) or in the total grams of DM, CP, and MJ/kg of DE consumed by the sheep with both forages. The sheep adopted different feeding strategies in response to the chemical composition and nutritive value of the forages. Preferences and intake in this trial were associated with high NDF content in maralfalfa and alfalfa hay and with the high CP content in tedera rather than digestibility results. This may be due to the complementarity of the three forages and the higher CP content in tedera affecting intake. Nevertheless, tedera and marafalfa could be a good forage considering its nutritive value, digestibility, and proven growth performance in herbivores.
本研究通过化学成分分析、消化率、摄入量和偏好试验，评估了泰德拉草（Bituminosa var. bituminosa）和象草（Pennisetum purpureum）的营养价值和能量含量。将泰德拉草与象草和苜蓿干草（Medicago sativa）进行了比较。与象草和苜蓿干草相比，泰德拉草的粗蛋白含量更高（193克粗蛋白/千克干物质），估计能量更高（10.5兆焦消化能/千克干物质），但干物质含量更低（286.3克干物质/千克），中性洗涤纤维含量更低（373克中性洗涤纤维/千克干物质）。泰德拉草的体外有机物消化率（IVOMD）为61.7%，苜蓿干草为51.0%，象草为66.3%。可消化有机物（DOM）范围从苜蓿干草中的467克/千克干物质到泰德拉草中的566.4克/千克干物质。选用4只平均体重（BW）为42.2±5.0千克的加那利绵羊进行消化率和偏好试验。在为期12天的试验开始和结束时记录绵羊的活重。连续八天每天称量并记录提供的饲料和剩余饲料，同时收集四天的粪便以计算表观体内消化率。对于泰德拉草，表观体内有机物消化率、估计可消化能量和可消化有机物分别为69.4%、11.8兆焦/千克干物质和637.7克/千克干物质。比较了泰德拉草、象草和苜蓿干草之间的偏好和采食量。总干物质消耗量为1091.3克/天（泰德拉草+象草+苜蓿干草），苜蓿干草摄入量占总干物质消耗量的40.8%，象草占37.3%，泰德拉草占21.9%。然而，在两种草料的采食/提供比例（泰德拉草为44.8%，象草为51.8%）或绵羊消耗的每千克干物质、粗蛋白和消化能的总克数方面，未观察到显著差异。绵羊根据草料的化学成分和营养价值采取了不同的采食策略。本试验中的偏好和采食量与象草和苜蓿干草中的高中性洗涤纤维含量以及泰德拉草中的高粗蛋白含量有关，而非消化率结果。这可能是由于三种草料的互补性以及泰德拉草中较高的粗蛋白含量影响了采食量。尽管如此，考虑到泰德拉草和象草的营养价值、消化率以及在草食动物中已证实的生长性能，它们可能是优质草料。
