NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF NITROGEN FERTILIZER OF BERSEEM 3- BERSEEM FED AS HAY TO GOATS

Mhsen, M.K.¹; H.M.A. Gaafar²; G.S. El-Santiel¹, H.M. El-Gendy² and E.A. El-Beltagi³

1- Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt

2- Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanta University, Egypt

3- Animal Production Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Dokki, Egypt

hamedgaafar@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Eighteen male goats were used to determine the effect of nitrogen fertilizer rate on nutritive values of 3^rd and 4^th cuts berseem hay. The contents of DM, OM, CF and NFE decreased, but CP, EE, ash Ca and P contents increased with increasing the rate of N fertilizer. There were little differences in the mean composition of hay among the 3^rd and 4^th cuts, which CP and ash contents tended to decrease, but CF content tended to increase from 3^rd to 4^th cut.

The digestibility coefficients of DM, OM, CP, EE and NFE and TDN and DCP values and the intake of DM, TDN and DCP by goats increased significantly (P<0.05), but CF digestibility decreased significantly (P<0.05) with increasing the rate of N fertilizer. Moreover, the digestibility coefficients of DM, OM, CP, EE and NFE and DCP value and the intake of DM, TDN and DCP were significantly higher (P<0.05), but CF digestibility was significantly lower (P<0.05) for 3^rd cut compared to 4^th cut berseem hay.

The pH value decreased significantly (P<0.05), however the concentrations of TVFA's and NH₃-N and nitrogen intake, digested, excretion in urine and retained increased significantly (P<0.05) in rumen liquor with increasing the rate of N fertilizer. The mean pH value and NH₃-N concentration in rumen liquor and N excretion in feces were nearly similar for silages of both 1^st and 2^nd berseem cuts, while the mean of TVFA's concentration and N intake, excretion in feces and urine, digested and retained were significantly higher (P<0.05) with feeding the 3^rd cut hay compared with feeding 4^th cut berseem hay.

The counts of red blood cells (RBC) and white blood cells (WBC) and hemoglobin concentration in blood of goats and the intake, excretion in feces, absorption, excretion in urine and retention of calcium and phosphorus increased significantly (P<0.05) with increasing the rate of N fertilizer. Moreover, RBC count was significantly higher (P<0.05), but phosphorus balance was significantly lower (P<0.05) with feeding the 4^th cut than that with feeding 3^rd cut berseem hay. While, WBC count and hemoglobin concentration and calcium balance were nearly similar for feeding both 3^rd and 4^th cuts berseem hay.

Keywords: feed intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance, rumen activity, blood hematology, calcium and phosphorus balance.

INTRODUCTION

Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) is an erect, cool-season annual legume, which is native to the Mediterranean region (Knight 1985). This species has the advantage over other annual species, including annual medics and peas, of providing multiple harvests during the growing season. Quality of hay is affected by stage of maturity because the chemical analysis and digestibility change from early to late stage of maturity, which is reflected on the nutritive value of the plants. The later cuts of berseem had higher values when calculated as fed, but in fact they were poorer in digestible protein than earlier cuts on DM basis (Saleh, 1986).

Chauhan et al. (1980) found that the DM and CF content of berseem increased, but the CP content (on DM basis) decreased with the progress of cut.  Phillip (1996) reported that nutritive values of berseem hay as a sole feed for sheep was 56.52% TDN and 9.88% DCP. Berseem clover is an annual legume used in crop rotations (Evers et al., 1993) and contains high concentrations of digestible DM and CP (Hattab and Harb, 1994). Information on the nutritive value of berseem clover for ruminants is limited. Karsli et al. (1999) reported that the effects of berseem clover hay supplementation on intake and digestibility of corn residues by sheep are similar to those of alfalfa hay.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on composition, feed intake, digestibility, rumen activity, blood hematology and calcium and phosphorus balance of berseem hay by goats.