 | Abstract 328Utilization of bananas by ruminants. III. Nitrogen complementation of rations based on bananas.Geoffroy,F Station de Recherches Zootechniques, INRA, 97170 Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe. Revue-d'Elevage-etde-MedecineVeterinairedes-Pays-Tropicau . 1985, 38: 1, 92-96; 5 ref. Performance and milk production were studied in goats fed diets of Digitaria decumbens with 500 g ensiled banana DM/day and (a) soya meal alone, (b) soya meal + urea at 20% N, or (c) soya meal + urea at 40% N, giving diets with equivalent N contents but different energy contents. In a 2nd experiment, (d) 310 g or (e) 420 g banana DM were fed with soya meal or a soya meal/urea (50% N) mixture, resp., to give diets of equivalent N and energy values. Urea supplementation decreased total DM intake from 109 to 95-98 g/kg W0.75 and daily gross milk production from 2.14 to 1.92-1.99 kg milk/goat. Urea also decreased DM intake and milk production in the 2nd experiment, with 1.26 kg milk/day and 69 g/kg W0.75 for (d) and 1.04 kg and 66 g for (e). A nutritional balance indicated that all diets were sufficient in animal energy and N requirements. This abstract relates to the following species: |