Banana or cassava flour as a substitute for maize in rations for dairy cows managed under grazing in the tropics

Abstract

Twelve cows were used, six of the Holstein breed and as many Holstein × Criolla crosses, which grazed associations of Braquiaria decumbens + Pueraria phaseoloides or Desmodium ovalifolium, with an animal load of 2 AU / ha during the time of minimum rainfall, evaluating the supplementation with concentrates based on banana, cassava or corn flours. The experimental design was a 3 × 3 Latin square with four repetitions. The three supplementary energy sources evaluated did not differ significantly, in milk yield and concentrate consumption (dry basis), being the general averages of 8.3 ± 2.1 and 3.4 ± 0.8 kg per day, respectively. However, cows supplemented with cassava lost body weight at a rate of 140 g per day, while those fed corn and banana gained 400 and 100 g, respectively. The crossbred cows produced more milk and consumed more concentrate than the Holsteins (9.10 and 3.82 against 7.61 and 3.05 kg per day).