Effect of African palm byproducts on cow milk production and quality in the south of the Department of Atlántico, Colombia

• Main Authors: Wilson Andrés Barragán-Hernández, Lorena Inés Mestra-Vargas, Danilo Portilla-Pinzon, Jorge Armando Mejía-Luquez, Ricardo José Henriquez-Crespo
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria (Corpoica) 2020-05-01
• Series: Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria
• Subjects: elaeis guineensis; milk production; multipurpose breeds; silvopastoral systems; smallholder
• Online Access: http://revistacta.agrosavia.co/index.php/revista/article/view/1132/637

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) byproducts in milk yield and quality under smallholder dual-purpose conditions in the south of the department of Atlántico, Colombia. A crossover design balanced for residuals effect was used in six livestock farms in Repelón (experiment i), and two in Manatí and four in Campo de la Cruz (experiment ii). During the adaptation and measurement periods, the diet was supplemented with Palm Kernel Cake (pkc) and Oil Palm Decanter Cake (opdc), and compared with mineralized salt (MSalt) as a control diet. Milk yield was affected by diet (p < 0.05). The opdc showed a higher milk production (3.20 and 4.01 L/cow/day in experiment i y ii, respectively) without differences (p > 0.05) compared to PKC, although it was higher than the MSalt treatment (2.91 and 3.38 L/cow/day in experiment i and ii, respectively). Milk quality was affected by diet (p < 0.05). The diet affected the concentration of milk urea nitrogen (p < 0.05), indicating possible alterations in ruminal degradable protein and fermentable carbohydrates. The opdc and pkc are proposed as options to improve milk yield in smallholder dual-purpose conditions in the south of the department of Atlántico, Colombia.