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Objective: This experiment aimed to evaluate the effects of replacing concentrates with cassava root-top silage (CARTOS) on feed intake, digestibility, rumen fermentation, blood parameters, and growth performance of beef cattle. Methods: Twenty crossbred bulls with a body weight (BW) of 226±56 kg were randomly assigned to one of five treatments for 90 d in a randomized complete block design having four blocks based on BW. The concentrates were replaced by CARTOS at levels of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% dry matter (DM). Animals were fed dietary treatments at 1.8% BW, with rice straw offered ad libitum. Results: The DM and crude protein (CP) intake were decreased (p<0.01, p = 0.04) when the diet’s CARTOS level was increased. The digestibility of DM, OM, and CP were not different among treatments, while fiber digestibility was increased with the inclusion of CARTOS (p = 0.03). The addition of CARTOS to replace concentrates did not change ruminal pH or volatile fatty acid proportions except for acetic acid, which increased with the addition of CARTOS (p = 0.03). The ruminal ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) was decreased (p<0.01) with increasing levels of CARTOS. The blood glucose and blood urea nitrogen decreased (p = 0.01) with the addition of CARTOS at 100%, whereas total protein and hematological parameters did not change with increasing levels of CARTOS. The use of CARTOS to substitute concentrates at 75% and 100% decreased average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed ratio (G:F) (p<0.01); therefore, the addition of CARTOS up to 50% maintained ADG and G:F in beef cattle. Conclusion: CARTOS can replace concentrates up to 50% in beef cattle diets without adversely affecting feed intake, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation characteristics, blood parameters, or growth performance of beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Kasedbok (Neptunia javanica Miq.) is a fodder tree legume that grows successfully in a range of tropical and subtropical regions. Kasedbok could be used as a protein source in beef cattle's concentrate diet, which would lower the cost of feeding. We evaluated the effect of the Kasedbok levels in the diets on feed intake, digestibility, rumen fermentation, and the microbial population in beef cattle. The findings indicated that using up to 240 g/kg Kasedbok in concentrate diets does not affect feed utilization, rumen characteristics, or microbial population, lowering feed costs. This experiment was conducted to determine the influence of Kasedbok (Neptunia javanica Miq.) on the feed utilization, rumen fermentation, and microbial population in Thai Native beef cattle. Four animals with a mean body weight of 295 ± 15 kg were randomly arranged in a 4 × 4 Latin square design. There were four treatments, utilizing 0, 80, 160, and 240 g/kg Kasedbok in concentrate. Local feed resources, including cassava chips, rice bran, palm kernel meal, and soybean meal, were utilized to formulate the concentrate diets, which contained between 11.8 and 12.0% crude protein (CP). The trial was conducted for four periods of three weeks each. The first two weeks consisted of an adaptation period, while the final week was a sampling period. The findings of the current study reveal that feed intake, dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility were similar between treatments. In addition, there was no effect of Kasedbok levels on rumen pH, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration, or volatile fatty acid. However, increasing the inclusion level of Kasedbok linearly decreased CP digestibility and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration (p = 0.04). In contrast, the population of fungal zoospores improved significantly (p = 0.03), while the bacterial and protozoal counts remained unchanged (p > 0.05). Furthermore, when the level of Kasedbok was increased from 0 to 80, 160, and 240 g/kg DM, the cost of concentrate decreased by 4.1, 7.8, and 10.6 USD/100 kg DM, respectively. The results of this experiment suggest that utilizing 240 g/kg of Kasedbok in a concentrated mixture will not affect feed utilization, rumen fermentation, improve microbial population, and reduce feed cost in Thai native beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The use of agro-industrial by-products as ruminant feed will lower the production costs and improve livestock profitability. Cassava peel is a major by-product of processing cassava roots for food, starch, and animal feed. The abundant fiber and low crude protein in cassava peel present a nutritional challenge. The goal of this study was to use a microorganism (Saccharomyces cerevisiae or effective microorganism, EM) to increase the nutritive value of cassava peel, use it as a replacement for concentrate, and examine the effects on the feed intake, feed digestibility, rumen fermentation, and growth performance of goats. The findings indicated that the feed intake, feed digestibility, rumen fermentation parameters, volatile fatty acid profile, overall average daily gain, and feed efficiency were not significantly different among treatments. Therefore, yeast- or EM-fermented cassava peel can replace up to 50% of the concentrate without affecting the feed intake, feed digestibility, rumen fermentation, or growth performance. This can lower the feed cost per gain by up to 32%. The goal of this study was to improve the nutritional value of cassava peel by using yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) or effective microorganisms (EM), then use it as a replacement for concentrate, and examine the effects on the feed intake, feed digestibility, rumen fermentation, and growth performance of goats. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD), and the dietary treatments were (1) concentrate, (2) replacement of the concentrate by yeast-fermented cassava peel (YFCP) at 50% and (3) replacement of the concentrate by EM-fermented cassava peel (EMFCP) at 50%. Twelve goats were given concentrate based on their treatments at a rate of 1.5% of their body weight. Rice straw was used as roughage and fed freely. It was found that the crude protein (CP) content of the cassava peel from 2.1% to 13.7–13.8% after 14 days of fermentation. Moreover, there were no significant differences between the treatments in terms of the feed intake, feed digestibility, ruminal pH, blood urea nitrogen concentration, volatile fatty acid profile, overall average daily gain, and feed efficiency. However, the cost of the feed per gain decreased when the YFCP or EMFCP was used instead of the concentrate. Based on the results of this experiment, it was possible to conclude that yeast or EM might be utilized as microorganisms to increase the nutritional value of cassava peel. Moreover, YFCP or EMFCP can replace concentrate by up to 50% without an impact on the feed intake, feed digestibility, rumen fermentation characteristics, and the growth performance; whereas, it can reduce the feed cost per gain up to 32%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The manipulation of ruminal ecology and fermentation to improve feed efficiency and reduce nitrogen excretion in ruminants is a pertinent goal for animal nutritionists. The fruits of Terminalia chebula Retz. are a rich source of phytonutrient compounds, which are attractive as rumen modifiers since these compounds are natural substances. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Terminaliachebula meal (TCM) supplementation on digestibility, rumen fermentation, nitrogen utilization, and protozoal population in goats. The findings indicated that the inclusion of TCM could improve rumen fermentation efficiency and N balance while reducing the protozoal population. As a result, TCM could be used as a plant source for the rumen enhancement of small ruminants. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Terminalia chebula meal (TCM) supplementation on digestibility, rumen fermentation, nitrogen utilization, and protozoal population in goats. Eight goats with an initial body weight (BW) of 13 ± 3.0 kg were randomly assigned according to a double 4 × 4 Latin square design to receive different levels of TCM supplementation at 0, 8, 16, and 24 g/kg of total dry matter (DM) intake, respectively. The goats were fed with concentrate diets at 13 g/kg BW, while rice straw was used as a roughage source, fed ad libitum. The results revealed that the feed intake and the apparent digestibility of DM, organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were similar among the treatments (p > 0.05). However, crude protein (CP) digestibility decreased significantly (p < 0.05) when supplemented with TCM at 24 g/kg of total DM intake (p < 0.05). The addition of TCM did not change the ruminal pH and blood urea nitrogen concentrations (p > 0.05), whereas the concentration of NH3-N at 4 h post feeding was reduced with the inclusion of TCM at 16 and 24 g/kg of total DM intake. The total numbers of bacteria were enhanced by the addition of TCM, while the protozoal population, in both entodiniomorph and holotrich, was reduced (p < 0.05). The supplementation of TCM did not change the concentration of total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), acetic acid, or butyric acid, while the propionic acid concentration at 4-h post feeding increased significantly, especially when supplemented at 16 g/kg of total DM intake (p < 0.05. In addition, urinary nitrogen (N) excretion decreased, while fecal N excretion, N absorption, N retention, and the proportion of N retention to N intake increased with the inclusion of TCM at all levels. In summary, the inclusion of TCM could improve rumen fermentation efficiency and N balance without having an adverse effect on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, and rumen ecology; however, the protozoal population decreased. Therefore, this study suggests that TCM (16 g/kg of total DM intake) could be used as a plant source for rumen enhancement in goats fed a diet based on rice straw without having an adverse effect on feed intake or nutrient digestion. However, further studies on the production of types of meat and milk that have a long-term feeding trial should be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]