COMPARISON OF WATER MELON (CITRULLUS-VULGARIS)-SEED MEAL, ACACIA-TORTILIS PODS AND SUNFLOWER-SEED CAKE SUPPLEMENTS IN CENTRAL TANZANIA .2. EFFECT ON HAY INTAKE AND MILK-YIELD AND COMPOSITION OF MPWAPWA COWS
Cm. Shayo et al., COMPARISON OF WATER MELON (CITRULLUS-VULGARIS)-SEED MEAL, ACACIA-TORTILIS PODS AND SUNFLOWER-SEED CAKE SUPPLEMENTS IN CENTRAL TANZANIA .2. EFFECT ON HAY INTAKE AND MILK-YIELD AND COMPOSITION OF MPWAPWA COWS, Tropical grasslands, 31(2), 1997, pp. 130-134
An experiment was conducted to study the effect on feed intake and mil
k production of supplementing lactating cows with water melon-seed mea
l, Acacia tortilis pods and sunflower-seed cake. The basal diet (contr
ol) was Cenchrus ciliaris hay + 1 kg maize bran/hd/d and additional su
pplements compared were 1.5 kg/hd/d water melon-seed meal, 1.5 kg/hd/d
Acacia tortilis pods and 1 kg/hd/d sunflower-seed meal. All animals w
ere fed the hay ad libitum. Eight Mpwapwa cows were penned and fed ind
ividually in a duplicate 4 x 4 Latin square experiment. The trial last
ed for 4 months. All supplements significantly (P<0.05) increased tota
l dry matter (DM) intake, and milk production. Milk fat was not signif
icantly (P>0.05) affected by any of the supplements. Water melon-seed
meal significantly (P<0.05) depressed the total solids and total ash i
n milk. The study has shown that water melon-seed meal and Acacia pods
may be more cost-effective supplements than sunflower-seed cake for d
airy farmers in remote villages in the semi-arid areas of central Tanz
ania.