Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

Effect of Supplementing Fresh and Ensiled
Cratylia argentea cv. Veraniega on Milk Production of
Dual-Purpose Cows in the Subhumid Tropics of Costa Rica
Marco Lobo and Vidal Acuña
MAG, Costa Rica
This study aims to evaluate the effect of the shrub legume Cratylia
argentea cv. Veraniega, on milk production when offered as fresh forage or
ensiled to dual-purpose cows.
Materials and Methods
Trials were carried out on two farms located in Costa Rica’s subhumid
tropical Central Pacific region, between 0 and 250 masl, and well-defined
dry (December-April) and rainy (May-November) seasons. The average
temperature is 26 °C and the average annual precipitation is 2,500 mm.
Experiment 1. Six cows of third parturition and in second month of
lactation were selected from a herd of 45 milking cows that presented broad
genetic variation, on a farm located in Barbudal de Barranca, Miramar.
Cows produced, on average, 5.5 kg milk/day.
After a 12-day period of adjustment to the new diets, each animal was
offered the forage supplement for 3 hours/day after milking. The trial lasted
30 days, during which 6 animals were rotated per treatment over a 10-day
period, which was divided into 7 days of adjustment and 3 days for
individual measurement of milk production per cow. Milk quality, especially
in terms of fat and total solids contents, was determined.
The treatments evaluated were as follows: T1, check animals grazing
the pasture alone; T2, supplement of 12 kg sugarcane, 8 kg C. argentea, 0.6
kg semolina, and 0.5 kg molasses; and T3, 12 kg sugarcane, 3 kg chicken
manure, 0.6 kg semolina, and 0.5 kg molasses.
The plants of C. argentea used had approximately 4 months regrowth,
with an average nutritive value of 16% CP and 33% DM.
A Latin square design was used in a changeover system (Lucas, 1983),
with three treatments and two animals per treatment. The separation of
averages was performed by the Waller-Duncan test (Steel and Torrie, 1988).
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