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

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.