Nitrogen partitioning and growth in grasscutters fed freshly cut Panicum maximum alone or supplemented with Leucaena lecocephala treated with 0, 1 or 2 per cent saline solution

摘要

ThestudywasconductedtoinvestigatetheeffectofsupplementingthebasaldietoffreshlycutPanicummaximum(PM)with20%freshLeucaenanbsp;leucocephala(LL),treatedwith0,1or2percentsalinesolution,nbsp;onthegrowthresponseofgrower-finishergrasscutters(Thryonomysswinderianus).Twenty-fourgrasscutters,withaninitialliveweightof2.0±0.06kgwereallocatedinaCompletelyRandomizedDesigntofourtreatmentsnamely:PMalone,PM+LL,PM+LLtreatedwith1%salinesolutionandPM+LLtreatedwith2%salinesolution.Thetriallastedforaperiodof75days.Forageintake,apparentdigestibility,nitrogenbalanceanddailyweightgainsweremeasuredduringthisperiod.nbsp;Supplementingthebasaldietwith20%L.leucocephalasignificantly(P=0.0001)increasedCPintakeby31%(5.2v.6.8g/day).Apparentdigestibilitycoefficientsweresimilar(P0.05)amongthetreatmentsforallchemicalconstituentsmeasured.However,treatingthesupplementedL.leucocephalawith2%saltsolutionincreased(P=0.0329)biologicalvalueofnitrogenandreduced(P=0.005)urinarynitrogenexcretion.Averagedailygainsdiffered(P=0.001)amongtreatments,beinglowestonPMalonedietandhighestonPM+LLtreatedwith2%salinesolution.Itcan,therefore,beconcludedthattreatingfreshlycutL.leucocephalawith2%commonsaltsolutionandusingitasasupplementofthesoleP.maximumdietcouldincreaseCPintakeandalsoreduceurinarynitrogenexcretionleadingtoimproveddailyliveweightgainofgrower-finishergrasscuttersundercaptiveconditions.