Dahlia root powder (Dahlia pinnata) as a feed additive in broiler feed.

The use of antibiotics as feed additives is still limited to livestock because of their residue content, therefore many studies have been conducted to find alternative materials to replace antibiotics as prebiotics, such as dahlia root powder. This study aims to examine the effect of dahlia tuber flour as a prebiotic source of broiler feed. This research was conducted based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with 4 treatments and 5 replications (8 broilers per unit). The treatments consisted of P0 = basal feed without the addition of dahlia root powder (control), P1 = basal feed+0.8% dahlia root powder, P2 = basal feed+1% dahlia root powder, P3 = basal feed +1.2% dahlia root powder. The parameter observed was the final body weight, feed consumption and feed conversion. The results showed that prebiotics from dahlia root powder had a significant effect (P<0.05). The addition at the level of 1.2% increased the final body weight by (1125.4 g/head) with feed conversion (1.26) while for feed consumption (1370.9 g/head) although it had no significant effect, it was lower than without supply of dahlia root powder. The conclusion of this study was Dahlia root powder can be used as a prebiotic in broiler feed because it can improve feed conversion which is characterized by an increase in final body weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]