ArticleTropical animal health and production2026
Effects of urea-molasses-treated corn or rice straw silages as an alternative to corn silage in the diet of Sahiwal calves on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and economic benefits.
Article in Tropical animal health and production, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Seasonal forage scarcity and elevated feed costs necessitate sustainable alternatives to conventional ruminant diets. This study evaluated urea-molasses-treated crop residues as alternative to corn silage in Sahiwal calf dies, focusing on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and economic efficiency. Sixteen calves (124 ± 12 kg BW; 12-14 months old) were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments (n = 4 per treatment) for 85 days: corn silage (Ctrl, T1), treated corn stover (CS, T2), treated rice straw (RS, T3) and treated corn cobs (CC, T4). All diets were supplemented with concentrate at 1.20% BW on a dry matter basis. Treated residues showed higher crude protein contents (9.01-10.12% of DM) due to ammonization, though preservation occurred through alkaline stabilization (pH 8.11-8.21) rather than lactic acid fermentation characteristic of conventional silage. Growth performance differed significantly (p < 0.01) among treatments. Average daily gain (ADG) was 0.81, 0.71, 0.63, and 0.54 kg/day, while feed conversion ratio (FCR) was 6.22, 6.61, 7.48, and 8.00 kg/kg for T1-T4, respectively. Calves fed treated corn stover (T2) achieved ADG statistically equivalent to Ctrl (p = 0.32), representing a non-inferiority margin of 12.3%. Despite slightly lower growth performance, T2 generated 25.22% and T3 12.61% higher economic return per kg gain than T1, although market weight was reached later (107, 120 vs. 94 days), an important consideration for capital turnover in commercial operations. Nutrient digestibility and nitrogen retention were lowest (p < 0.05) in calves fed treated corn cobs (T4), likely due to higher lignin and ash contents. Overall, corn stover (T2) offers the best balance between performance and profitability, the urea-molasses-treated corn stover (T2) provided the optimal trade-off between growth performance (87.7% of Ctrl ADG) and feed cost reduction (29.6% lower cost/kg gain). These findings indicate that treated corn stover and to less extent rice straw is a practical feeding option for resources-limited livestock systems, although extended feeding periods require careful cash-flow planning and capital turnover management.
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