Abstract

GALLEGO-CASTRO, Luis Alberto; MAHECHA-LEDESMA, Liliana  and  ANGULO-ARIZALA, Joaquín. Milk production, quality and benefit:cost ratio of supplementing Holstein cows with Tithonia diversifolia. Agron. Mesoam [online]. 2017, vol.28, n.2, pp.357-370. ISSN 2215-3608.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/ma.v28i2.25945.

The aim of this study was to analyze the milk production, quality and cost:benefit ratio the addition of three levels (0%, 15% and 25%) flour of Tithonia diversifolia in the supplement of Holstein cows. In a bovine milk production system in a high tropic were used nine cows (70 to 120 milk days and parity two to five). They were randomly assigned in three groups, which grazed on Kikuyo grass ( Cenchrus clandestinus ) in La Montaña farm, located in San Pedro de los Milagros, Antioquia, Colombia, at 2350 meters above sea level. This study was carried out during March 2015. At 56 days, T. diversifolia (wild sunflower) from a fodder bank located at 2456 masl was harvested, and dried using marquees ground for an approximate period of time of ten days, it was then minced and stored to prepare isoenergetics (1.8 Mcal NEL/kg) and isoproteics (14% CP) supplements. The study evaluated its effect on dry matter intake (DMI), corrected milk production (4% fat, FCM), milk composition (protein, fat, lactose, total solids, milk urea nitrogen –MUN), somatic cell count (SCC), produced milk: supplement intake and cost:benefit ratio. The results showed significant differences for the inclusion of 25% of T. diversifolia flour in the supplement for benefit:cost ratio, lactose, MUN, SCC and produced milk:supplement intake ratio, contrary to what happened with DMI, corrected 4% fat milk production, protein, fat and total solids that not differ. The addition of 25% of wild sunflower in the supplement for grazing dairy cows improved the milk quality in reference to lactose concentration, efficiency in the use of the supplement, cost:benefit ratio.

Keywords : forage shrubs; wild sunflower flour; dairy cows; animal feeding.

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