<b>Addition of spineless cactus (<em>Opuntia ficus indica</em> Mill) to different types of roughage in the diet of lactating Holstein cows</b> - DOI: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v29i3.569

Abstract

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the association of spineless cactus with different roughage sources on the apparent digestibility, intake and milk yield of lactating cows (average 560 ± 50 kg LW and 20 kg of daily milk yield). The treatments contained different roughage sources with spineless cactus: sugar cane bagasse, tifton hay, elephant grass hay, sorghum silage and a mixture of sugar cane bagasse + sorghum silage. The voluntary intake of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC), total carbohydrates (TCH), organic matter (OM) and total digestible nutrients (TDN) was evaluated. In addition, the apparent digestibility coefficient for DM, CP, EE, NDF, NFC, TCH, OM, milk production, and milk fat concentration of lactating Holstein cows were also evaluated. The different types of roughage in association with the spineless cactus did not affect the digestibility coeficients and the intake of most nutrients. The roughage sources also did not affect milk production, fat-corrected milk production and milk fat concentration, with averages of 16.92 kg day^-1, 17.57 kg day^-1 and 3.76%, respectively. The spineless cactus could be added to different roughage sources in diets for lactating cows without altering the intake, performance and apparent digestibility of dry matter and nutrients.