Recent Advances in Kenaf Production for Animal Feed - Malaysian Experiences

摘要

In most kenaf producing countries, kenaf was traditionally produced for fiber. Kenaf plant is found to grow very well under Malaysian climatic conditions. Due to its inherent high protein content, especially in the young leaves, kenaf has also been investigated as a forage crop for ruminant feed. In Malaysia, kenaf was commonly harvested at six weeks after planting and subsequently harvested every six weeks for two times on the crop. At about six weeks old, kenaf contains between 18 to 30% of crude protein on dry matter basis. Large-scale planting of kenaf is possible and the yield of about 10 tones per hectare can be achieved. Various forms of animal feed based on kenaf can be developed, either in the forms of pellets, cubes, chaff, meal or silage. The overall manufacturing process of these feeds will be described in this paper. The suitability of Kenaf feed was studied on various ruminant species including cattle and sheep. Feeding experiment on growing cattle revealed that optimum live weight of 0.66 to 0.71 was achieved when kenaf was included at 20 - 30 % level in the rations. In growing goat, Kenaf was shown to be able to substitute up to 50% of soya bean meal (SBM) in their diets. The growth performance will be markedly affected at higher inclusion level ( > 50 %), which subsequently resulted in lower nutrient digestibility. A short-term study was also conducted on infected sheep to evaluate the effect of kenaf on parasitic control. In over 33 days experimental period, kenaf was found to decrease faecal egg count (FEC) by 69% as compared to the control group, indicating its potential to be used for the controlling of parasites in grazing small ruminants. Kenaf has been shown to be a very promising protein source for animal feed and has great potential form on commercial production.