Ensiling and Utilization of Kinnow mandarin (Citrus reticulata) Waste and Empty Pea (Pisum sativum) Pods as Feed for Buffalo Calves Wadhwa M., Hundal J.S., Bakshi M.P.S.* Department of Animal Nutrition, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana-141004, India *Corresponding author: bakshimps2@gmail.com
Online published on 13 April, 2022. Abstract The leftover material after extraction of juice from kinnow mandarin (Citrus reticulata) is called kinnow waste (KW) and constitutes 50% of the kinnows used for extraction. Likewise after shelling peas (Pisum sativum) the leftover material is called empty pea pods (EPP) constituting about 55% of intact pea pods. Fresh KW and EPPs were mixed with wheat straw (WS) in 75:25 and 80:20 ratios, respectively, and ensiled for 42 days in tube silo. The KW had higher concentration of saponins, total phenols and antioxidant activity than that of EPP. The in vitro gas production studies revealed that the true OM digestibility, ME availability, total and individual volatile fatty acid (VFAs) production and relative proportion of propionate were higher (P<0.01); and improved (P<0.01) acetate to propionate ratio was observed in KW-WS silage as compared to EPP-WS silage. The methane production was observed to be lower (P<0.01) in KW-WS silage, which resulted in higher fermentation efficiency in comparison to EPP-WS silage. The KW-WS and EPP-WS silages were also evaluated as part of total mixed ration (TMR) on 12 male Murrah buffalo calves. Animals divided into three equal groups were fed either conventional TMR or TMR containing KW-WS silage or EPP-WS silage. The digestibility of nutrients was similar in all groups, except that of ADF which was improved (P<0.05) in animals fed TMRs containing ensiled KW-WS or EPP-WS as compared to control TMR. The feeding of KW-WS or EPP-WS silage based TMR did not show any adverse effect on blood profile, purine derivatives excreted in urine and N-retention in buffalo calves. It was concluded that these wastes are good source of bio-active compounds and can be incorporated safely in the ration of buffalo calves. Top Keywords Buffalo calves, Empty pea pods, Kinnow waste, Methane, Nutrient utilization. Top |