Intake and dry matter digestibility of by-products of fruit processer in sheep

This work was carried out aiming to evaluate the nutritive value of byproducts of fruit processor. Byproducts of pineapple, west indian cherry (WIC), guava, passion fruit and melon were evaluated. Twenty sheep castrated males, with average weight of 34.5 kg, were assigned to a completely randomized design with five treatments (byproducts) and four replications. Dry matter intakes (DMI) of byproducts of guava, passion fruit and melon by the animals were similar but higher than WIC byproduct. The highest crude protein intake (CPI) (g/animal/day, g/BW0.75) was observed in passion fruit and melon byproducts, while WIC byproduct the lowest CPI. Guava byproduct showed the higher intakes of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) and passion fruit byproduct showed the highest apparent digestibility of dry matter (ADDM) coefficient. Guava and WIC byproducts showed ADMS lower than the others. The coefficients of apparent digestibility of crude protein (ADCP) of passion fruit and melon byproducts were higher than the others byproducts. As for, the coefficients of apparent digestibility of NDF (ADNDF) and ADF (ADADF), WIC and guava byproducts were lower while passion fruit byproduct showed ADNDF and ADADF higher than the others. No difference among evaluates byproducts for nitrogen balance was observed. Results showed that; pineapple, passion fruit and melon byproducts could be used in ruminant diets. However, WIC and guava byproducts showed low nutrient digestibility coefficients, restricting their use in ruminant diets.