Evaluation of different sources of energy supplementation on the ruminal parameters of Nelore tourinhos

Abstract

Beef cattle is an important activity for the economy of Brazil, being developed predominantly in pastures. Employing strategies to improve the use of forage produced in these areas is of great relevance. The energy supplementation of the diet of animals kept in pastures of tropical grasses during the water season makes it possible to improve animal performance and enhance the use of forages. The use of by-products from the processing of agricultural products and also the use of tannin has been approached as a possible source of nutrients for the intensification of livestock, becoming a strategy to increase the efficiency of the use of excess soluble N of the forage plants submitted management based on the light interception of 95% of the incident radiation. The use of tannins causes an increase in microbial protein synthesis by decreasing the ruminal degradation of the fractions of the soluble protein due to the formation of complexes (protein-tannin) providing greater microbial growth. The objective of the work is to evaluate the effects of three sources of energy supplement and the control treatment with mineral salt on the ruminal parameters of Nellore bulls reared in Marandu grass pastures during the rainy season. The experiment will be carried out in the Foraging Sector of the Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences FCAV / UNESP, during the breeding phase of animals kept in pastures of Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu (Marandu grass). Eight cannulated Nelore bulls will be used in the rumen, with an initial average weight (PMI) of 250 kg, distributed in a double Latin square 4x4 design. The treatments will be 1 - energy supplementation at 0.3% of body weight (BW) with peanut skin; 2 - energy supplementation at 0.3% of the PC with sorghum grain; 3 - energy supplementation at 0.3% of the CP with soybean husk; 4 - control, supply of mineral salt ad libitum. (AU)