Banana Pell in diets for lactating crossbred cows

Abstract

The study purpose was to evaluate the intake, digestibility, ingestive behavior and milk production of F1 Holstein x Zebu cows fed with diets containing dried banana peel in the sun with or without addition of chemical agents during the drying process. We used two Latin squares 4 x 4, composed of four diets, four animals and four experimental periods. The diets were formulated to be isonitrogenious with forage to concentrate ratio of 75: 25. Treatments consisted of 20% inclusion of dried banana peel with or without addition of 2% of limestone or 2% of calcium oxide, replacing the sorghum silage, apart from free banana peel diet. Were used eight cows with 80 ± 10 days in milk at the beginning of the experiment, which lasted 72 days, divided into four periods of 18 days with 14 days for diet adaptation and four days of sampling and data collection. The banana peel with calcium oxide decreases rumination time, the total chewing time and the number amounts ruminated per day. However, it didn’t change the feed and rumination efficiencies of DM and NDF. The utilization of dried banana peel in the sun in 20% of the diet doesn’t alter milk yield, with average production of 16.88 kg of milk with 3.5% of fat.day-1. However, reduces DM and nutrients digestibility, which may limit the weight gain of the animals. The use of additives in banana skin drying does not improve the consumption and production of milk.