Nutritional value of the straw of green maize for bovines

Abstract

The objective was evaluate the use of the straw of green maize, byproduct derived from green maize extraction process, by determining chemical composition; in situ dry matter and neutral detergent fiber; the index of forage value; estimative of dry matter digestibility, total digestible nutrients and net energy for lactation, as well as dry matter intake. Degradability in situ was performed in bovines fistulated in rumen, at incubation time of 96h,72h, 48h, 24h, 12h, 9h, 6h, 3h, and 0h. A completely randomized design was used and effective degradability for DM and NDF at 2, 5 and 8% of passage rate were estimated. The index of forages value, estimative of the dry mater digestibility, total digestible nutrients and the liquid energy for lactation, as well as dry matter intake of this byproduct were reached by means of predicted equations. The results suggested an interesting profile for the use of byproduct of the straw of grain maize for feeding bovines compared to other feedstuffs with good quality.