Saccharum officinarum

Sugarcane juice

The product of on-farm cane fractionation (or surplus juice from a factory when prices are low) is an excellent readily-available carbohydrate source for all classes of livestock. The juice may be extracted using a simple motorized, draught powered or human operated roller mill on the farm. The extraction rate will be lower than at a sugar factory (40-50%). 

It has 16-20% DM and contains mainly sucrose and reducing sugars like glucose and fructose. The content of protein is negligible. It may be fed to growing cattle, milk cows or other ruminants but the most appropriate use is likely to be as the basis for feeding monogastrics, particularly pigs. Successful experiments and commercial applications of feeding cane juice to pigs have taken place in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia, the Philippines, Vietnam and other parts of the tropics. 

The juice ferments within 10-12 hours of extraction and should ideally be used fresh. Formalin (30% formaldehyde solution) may be added at 0.01-0.06 w/w to conserve the juice for up to 72 hours. Ammonium hydroxide (1.5% v/v) and sodium benzoate (0.15%) have also been used as preservatives[596]. 

The juice is normally fed to pigs in a drinking trough. A halved 50cm plastic drain pipe set into cement is ideal because it can be easily and thoroughly cleaned. Ad libitum intake of juice will range from 5 litres per day at 20 kg to 15 litres per day at 100 kg live weight. A dry supplement must be fed separately preferably in the morning in order to be totally consumed before feeding the juice. 

A high-protein supplement must be used and this may be soyabean meal or a mixture of protein concentrates. One feature of feeding sugarcane juice is that practically all the protein must come from the supplement and the amino acid balance will be that of the supplement; with cereal based diets, the supplement must compensate for the unbalanced amino acid profile of cereals. Target amino acid supplies were achieved in one experiment with a supplement consisting of 25% soya oilcake, 34% fishmeal, 27% lucerne meal and 12.5% wheat bran plus ground limestone, salt and min/vit premix, with only a minor requirement for methionine supplementation but not lysine. This diet also supplied some fibre. When fed at 40% of the DM intake with cane juice, growth rates of 730 g/day were achieved from 23-90 kg liveweight [601]. There were no differences in live weight gain and carcass composition between this diet and a maize-based feed, balanced in the same way for amino acids, etc. Health of the pigs was good and faeces were of normal consistency throughout. 

Elsewhere, gains of over 800 g/day have been achieved by pigs on sugarcane juice. 

It may be possible to substitute local protein sources for the soyabean meal, to reduce costs. Dried cassava, potato and Leucaena leaves have proved effective, providing up to 30% of the required protein without affecting animal growth. 

It also seems possible to reduce the amount of protein supplements and to use it at a flat rate of 500g per day (40% CP) throughout, to simplify feeding management. This may not produce maximum animal performance and can produce fatter pigs. However, in some situations it may be economically advantageous. 

					As % of dry matter
				DM	CP	CF	Ash	EE	NFE	Ca	P	Ref
Crude SC Juice,
Colombia				23.8	0.19	-	0.93	-	-	0.06	0.06	598

References

596, 597, 598, 601