R. Bras. Zootec.01/Aug/2008;37(8):1347-54.
Ruminal degradation of silage of elephantgrass wilted or with different levels of cocoa meal
DOI: 10.1590/S1516-35982008000800003
The experiment was conducted to evaluate dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) ruminal degradation of elephantgrass silages wilted under the sun light for eight hours or with addition of 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28% of cocoa meal (CM) at the ensiling. Samples of each silage type were incubated in the rumen of three Holstein cows for 0, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 hours. The CM inclusion reduced the degradation potential of DM, which showed greater values for silages without CM (wilted or non-wilted). The CP and NDF potential degradability showed small variations, with mean values near 80 and 46%, respectively. Considering a passage rate of 5%/h, all silages showed high CP effective degradability (over 55%). Although the ruminal degradation estimate for silages with CM showed a reduction tendency, all silages presented DM and CP potential degradability over 65 and 75%, respectively. The CM addition to elephantgrass can be considered an alternative that offers a fast and abundant availability of nutrients to the ruminal system.