Developing Maize Silage and Ryegrass Blends based Fattening Ration for the Low-Input Small and Medium Scale Fattening Farmers in Pakistan
Developing Maize Silage and Ryegrass Blends based Fattening Ration for the Low-Input Small and Medium Scale Fattening Farmers in Pakistan
Khalid Farooq, Muhammad Tahir and Nazir Ahmad Khan*
ABSTRACT
The growth rate of fattening animals under smallholder production systems in Pakistan is very low, partly because of the scarcity of good quality forages, and no or insufficient feeding of concentrates. The present study was carried out to address this issue, by developing maize silage and ryegrass forage blend based fattening rations. Five diets containing maize silage and ryegrass in the ratios of 30:70; 40:60; 50:50; 60:40 and 70:30 on dry matter (DM) basis in the forage mixture were evaluated in comparison with a control/traditional diet. A total of 18 calves were allocated to the six experimental diets according to a randomized complete block designed and the dietary groups were balanced for age, BW and sex. Data on intakes of DM, nutrients and metabolizable energy (ME), digestibility of DM and nutrients, body weight (BW) gain and body condition score (BCS) were recorded. The intake of all nutrients improved (P < 0.05) with the incorporation of blends of maize silage and ryegrass in the diet. Moreover, the intake of DM, organic matter (OM), and ME consistently increased (P < 0.05) with increasing maize silage inclusion levels (30 to 70%) in the forage blends, and the highest (P < 0.05) intake was recorded for diet containing 70% maize silage. Irrespective of the composition of the forage blend, the inclusion of forage blends in the diets increased (P < 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) and BCS as compared to the control diet. The minimum (P < 0.05) values of ADG (478 g/day) and BCS (3.00) were recorded for the control diet, and the maximum (P < 0.05) values of ADG (663 g/day) and BCS (5.75) were recorded for diet containing 70% maize silage in the forage blend. In conclusion, maize silage-based forage blends increased ADG of the calves by an average of 100 g/day as compared to the control diet, and the highest increase in ADG of 150 g/day was recorded for a blend containing highest proportion (70%) of maize silage.
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