José Eduardo de Almeida
Estação Experimental de Zootecnia
Gália, São Paulo
Brazil
and
Tamara Canto Fonseca
Instituto de Zootecnia
Nova Odessa, São Paulo
Brazil
INTRODUCTION
It should be clarified that mulberry is not yet cultivated as forage in Brazil. However, animal scientists have increasingly focused on the potential of mulberry for animal feeding, especially in the Department of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences at Jaboticabal, São Paulo state (altitude of 614 m, latitude -21°14'4,9'' and longitude -48°17'9,3''). The climate in this region is humid subtropical, with dry winters and rainy summers, and an average annual temperature of 20°C. Annual rainfall is 1 400 mm. The soil is classified as dark red latosol, with average texture, and classified by the seventh American approximation as typic haphorthox.
Determinations of growth curve, dry material production, crude protein (CP) content, ratio leaf:stem, have been carried out for some clones (Brazão, et al. 1992; Takahashi et al., 1992; Resende et al., 1992; Guideli et al., 1993). Scrutinizing 5 clones (Korin, Calabresa, FM 86, FM SM and Miura) in four different cutting frequencies (45, 60, 75 and 90 days), Brazão (1992) found that the best clone was FM SM at 60 days, with a higher percentage of CP. Other authors, studying the seasonal effect along the year (winter, autumn and summer), observed that the FM SM clone was also the best, with higher yield related to total DM, stem and leef DM, but presented lower ratio leaf/stem (Takahashi et al., 1992; Resende et al., 1992; Guideli et al., 1993).
Also the bromatological composition has been determined for different ages and parts of the plant by Sugohara et al. (1994a,b) and by Resende et al. (1994a,b).
Another characteristic of mulberry that has caught attention from researchers and specialists is the dry material digestibility. Experiences were conducted in vitro, by Resende et al.(1994c); Takahashi et al.(1994) and Sugohara et al.(1994c) (reporting on Hara, 1993) and Baffi, 1992, and in situ, conducted by Vasconcelos et al.(1994) and Schmidek (1999), and in feces and urine, conducted by Basaglia (1993). The main results of the published papers are summarized in the following section.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
TABLE 1
Bromatological composition in leaf and stem of Iamada clones for different cutting frequencies (in days)
|
Leaf fraction |
Stem fraction |
||||||
Days |
45 |
60 |
75 |
90 |
45 |
60 |
75 |
90 |
DM |
20.1a |
22.0a |
26.0a |
23.8a |
18.2d |
22.7c |
27.6b |
32.6a |
Crude protein |
25.6a |
24.6ab |
23.7ab |
22.9b |
8.8a |
7.2b |
6.4bc |
5.5c |
Ether extract |
3.8b |
6.0a |
5.5a |
5.2a |
2.5b |
2.2b |
2.1b |
2.9a |
Ash |
5.9a |
8.1a |
7.9a |
9.5a |
6.3a |
4.4b |
3.2bc |
2.6c |
NDF |
34.5a |
26.1b |
7.7b |
37.3a |
71.7c |
75.5b |
77.3b |
81.1a |
ADF |
22.2a |
19.4a |
22.4a |
22.4a |
56.0a |
55.8a |
56.2a |
57.6a |
Cellulose |
5.9a |
8.1a |
7.9a |
9.5a |
35.8b |
39.9a |
38.6ab |
41.9a |
Lignine |
9.0a |
6.9a |
8.4a |
8.9a |
16.3a |
14.7ab |
15.9ab |
14.2b |
Note: values in rows with the same letter were not different in Tukey Test, at 5 percent level.TABLE 2
Source: Sugohara et al., 1994a.
Bromatological composition in leaf and stem of some mulberry clones (four years of age) in the winter1, summer2 and in the spring3
Parameter (%) |
Winter (range) |
Spring |
Summer |
|||
Leaf |
Stem |
Leaf |
Stem |
Leaf |
Stem |
|
DM |
22-24 |
25-30 |
22.2 |
22.4 |
|
|
Crude Protein |
28-30 |
8-9 |
30.7 |
10.3 |
21.8 (FM SM) |
5.9 (FMSM) |
Ash |
10-12 |
4-5 |
4.6 |
2.3 |
|
|
Ether extract |
4-5 |
2-3 |
10.2 |
5.0 |
|
|
NDF |
27-34 |
79-82 |
29.1 |
80.6 |
29.7 |
|
ADF |
16-20 |
49-55 |
18.0 |
51.1 |
11.6 |
|
Lignin |
6-7 |
13-14 |
5.7 |
11.8 |
|
|
Cellulose |
7-8 |
36-40 |
- |
- |
|
|
Source: 1 Resende et al., 1994a; 2 Sugonara et al., 1994; 3 Resende et al., 1994b.The design was completely randomized 5 x 4 factorial (clones x growth age) with two repetitions. Spacing was 3 m between lines and 0.6 m between plants. After the evaluation of experimental data, the authors concluded that the lamada clone had a high forage potential.
During the winter, there were no marked changes in the leaf and stem fractions with cutting. In the spring, there was a significant decrease in CP and an increase in fibre fraction (P <0.05) with cutting age. In the summer, cell composition changed with cutting age, with an increase in cell wall and a decrease in cell contents. The authors came to the conclusion that mulberry had a high forage potential, suitable for animal feeding, especially for caprines.
TABLE 3
In vitro digestibility (Tilley and Terry, 1963) of some mulberry clones in experiments conducted in two seasons (in days)
Clone |
Stem DMr |
Leaf DMr |
Leaf protein |
|||
April-June |
August-October |
April-June |
August-October |
April-June |
August-October |
|
Korin |
45.3 |
48.6 |
66.5 |
68.3 |
56.4 |
66.6 |
Calabresa |
50.0 |
42.6 |
64.7 |
70.0 |
54.6 |
66.6 |
FM 86 |
49.8 |
46.8 |
70.2 |
71.4 |
57.2 |
65.0 |
FM SM |
48.4 |
49.3 |
69.6 |
71.3 |
56.8 |
65.9 |
Miura |
50.9 |
47.6 |
66.8 |
69.1 |
56.7 |
65.6 |
Average |
48.9 |
47.0 |
67.6 |
70.0 |
56.3 |
65.9 |
Source: Tilley and Terry, 1993; Hara, 1993.TABLE 4
Production of dry matter and crude protein of five mulberry clones in two seasons (in days)
Cutting |
Stem DMr |
Leaf DMr |
Leaf CP |
Leaf DCP |
||||
Frequency |
Apr-Jun |
Aug-Oct |
Apr-Jun |
Aug-Oct |
Apr-Jun |
Aug-Oct |
Apr-Jun |
Aug-Oct |
45 |
9.4 |
1.9 |
6.3 |
1.2 |
2.9 |
0.6 |
5.5 |
1.2 |
60 |
8.6 |
4.4 |
5.9 |
3.5 |
2.6 |
1.5 |
5.1 |
3.5 |
75 |
7.0 |
6.9 |
4.7 |
4.9 |
1.8 |
2.2 |
3.7 |
4.7 |
90 |
11.1 |
10.7 |
7.5 |
7.2 |
3.0 |
2.8 |
6.2 |
6.0 |
Source: Hara, 1993.Hara (1993) observed that at 90 days, mulberry gave the largest DM and leaf protein production. Research conducted by Resende et al. (1994c) indicated that in the winter mean DM digestibility for Korin, Calabresa, FM 86, FM SM and Miura was 67.6 percent for leaf, 48.8 percent for stem, and the average digestibility of protein was 56.3 percent. In spring, those figures ranged from 67 to 74 percent and from 37 to 55 percent, for DM to CP, respectively (Takahashi et al., 1994). In both experiments, FM SM showed the largest digestible DM production in winter (75 days) and in spring (90 days). In summer (Sugohara et al. 1994) observed that FM SM had digestibilities of 53 percent for leaf DM and 44 percent for stem DM.
TABLE 5
In vitro digestibility1 of Iamada clones (nine years of age), with different cutting frequencies.
Cutting frequency |
In vitro digestibility |
|||
Dry matter |
Crude protein |
|||
|
Stem |
Leaf |
Stem |
Leaf |
45 |
52.8 |
82.7 |
92.3 |
88.3 |
60 |
47.6 |
83.4 |
92.9 |
90.4 |
75 |
45.3 |
80.0 |
97.9 |
87.8 |
90 |
39.3 |
78.9 |
90.5 |
86.0 |
Source: Baffi, 1992; Tilley and Terry, 1993. 1 Tilley and Terry (1963). Spacing was 3m by 0.6m.TABLE 6
Rumen degradation characteristics of some mulberry clones in caprines
|
Vasconcelos et al., 1994 |
Schmidek, 1991 |
||
DM |
CP |
DM |
CP |
|
Soluble fraction |
31.2 |
21.5 |
31.4 |
17.7 |
Degradable fraction |
60.6 |
74.4 |
61.8 |
79.3 |
Non-degradable fraction |
7.9 |
4.1 |
6.8 |
3.2 |
Potential degradation |
92.1 |
95.9 |
92.4 |
90.7 |
Source: Schmidek, 1999.The data showed a high potential degradation of DM and CP in mulberry, which makes it an adequate option for feeding caprines.
TABLE 7
Nutritive value of two six year-old mulberry clones1 (Basaglia, 1993).
Clone/cutting |
Digestibility |
Metabolizable protein (%) |
Biological value (%) |
Nitrogen balance (g) |
|
DM |
CP |
||||
FM86 |
74.8 |
76.7 |
76.6 |
99.9 |
14.7 |
FMSM |
73.8 |
78.0 |
77.9 |
99.9 |
14.9 |
45 days |
77.5a |
81.1a |
81.0a |
99.9a |
16.6a |
90 days |
71.1b |
73.6b |
73.4b |
99.8b |
12.9b |
Source: Basaglia, 1993.No significant differences were observed among clones, but the cutting frequency influenced the efficiency of mulberry as a feeding source for caprines. A better result was obtained at 45 days.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baffi, M.H. 1992. Utilização da amoreira (Morus alba L.) cultivar Yamada para caprinos: Curva de crescimento e digestibilidade in vitro. Trabalho apresentado a Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, UNESP, Campus de Jaboticabal, para graduação em Zootecnia. FCAV. UNESO, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil.
Basaglia, R. 1993. Eficiência de utilização da proteína da amoreira (Morus alba) pelos caprinos e digestibilidade in vitro. Trabalho apresentado a Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, UNESP, Campus de Jaboticabal, para graduação em Zootecnia. FCAV. UNESO, Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo, Brazil. 1993
Brazão, C.S., Takahashi, R., Sugohara, A. & Resende, K. T. 1992. Curva de crescimento e composição bromatológica da amoreira (Morus alba L.) IV Congresso de Iniciação Científica da UNESP, Araçatuba, Sao Paulo, Brazil - 27 a 29 de agosto de 1992
Guideli, C., Resende, K. T., Takahashi, R., Sugohara, A. & Reis, R. A. 1993. Produção de cultivares de amoreira (Morus alba L.) em diferentes idades de crescimento, durante o verão. V Congresso de Iniciação Científica da UNESP. Depto de Zootecnia, FCAV, Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Hara, C. H. 1993. Produção e digestibilidade in vitro da matéria seca e proteína de cultivares de amoreira (Morus alba L.) - Trabalho apresentado a Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, UNESP, Campus de Jaboticabal, para graduação em Zootecnia. FCAV - UNESO, Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Resende, K. T.; Sugohara, A.; Takahashi, R; Reis, R. A. & Brazão, Claudia S. 1992. Produção de matéria seca de cultivares de amoreira (Morus alba L.) no outono, visando sua utilização na alimentação de ruminantes. Anais da XXIX Reunião Anual da SBZ - Lavras, MG, Brazil.
Resende, K. T.; Takahashi, R.; Sugohara, A.; Brazão, Claudia S.; Reis, R. A. & Vasconcelos, V. R. 1994a. Composição bromatológica de cultivares de amoreira (Morus alba L.). 1 - Estação de inverno. Anais da XXXI Reunião Anual da SBZ, Maringá, PR, Brazil.
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Schmidek, A. 1999. Composição bromatológica e degradabilidade em caprinos, de cultivares de amoreira (Morus alba L.) Trabalho apresentado a Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, UNESP, Campus de Jaboticabal, para graduação em Zootecnia. FCAV - UNESO, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil.
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Sugohara, A., Resende, K. T., Takahashi, R., Guideli, C., Reis, R.A. & Vasconcelos, Vânia R. 1994c. Produção e digestibilidade de cultivares de amoreira (Morus alba L.). 3 - Estação de verão. Anais da XXXI Reunião Anual da SBZ, Maringá, PR, Brazil.
Takahashi, R., Sugohara, A., Resende, K. T., Reis, R. A. & Brazão, C. S. 1992. Produção de matéria seca de cultivares de amoreira (Morus alba L.) no inverno, visando sua utilização na alimentação de ruminantes. Anais da XXIX Reunião Anual da SBZ - Lavras, MG, Brazil.
Takahashi, R., Sugohara, A., Resende, K. T., Reis, R. A. & Vasconcelos, V. R. 1994. Produção e digestibilidade de cultivares de amoreira (Morus alba L.). 1 - Estação da primavera. Anais da XXXI Reunião Anual da SBZ, Maringá, PR, Brazil.
Tilley, J. M. & Terry, R. A. 1993. A two stage for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. J.Br.Grassland Soc. 18: 104-111.
Vasconcelos, V. R., Resende, K. T., Sugohara, A., Costa, R. G. & Takahashi, R. 1994. Características de degradação da matéria seca e proteína bruta da amoreira (Morus alba L.) por caprinos. Anais da XXXI Reunião Anual da SBZ, Maringá, PR, Brazil.