Nutri rich cattle feed (NuCa feed) supplement with improved fiber content free of anti-nutritional factor Phytic acid

Abstract

Most of the commercial ruminant feeds comprise Corn meal, Groundnut cake, Maize etc., which contain anti-nutritional factors called Phytates. They have high binding affinity to cationic minerals. This results in decrease in activity of the cattle by making minerals unavailable for absorption in the intestine. Many of the feed industries add Phytase enzyme that degrades the Phytic acid. Addition of Phytase enzyme is very complex method and increases the cost of the feed. If Phytase is not added, Phytic acid enters the ecosystem through the dung and due to microbial degradation, the Phytic acid gets converted into Phosphates. Phosphate abundance in water bodies leads to Eutrophication, which is a serious ecological issue. And also, in many parts of the country, post-harvest Paddy straw is burnt unused. This intentional stubble burning causes air pollution. We combined paddy straw and Azolla along with jaggery to prepare animal feed supplement. The feed pellets were evaluated for their nutritional composition and efficacy. The efficacy of the developed feed was evaluated by feeding it to milch cows and compared with regular feed for a period of 15 days. The Azolla-Hay feed improved the milk yield and also quality of the milk in comparison to the control group. This study revealed that Azolla in combination with paddy straw powder can be low-cost feed alternative especially during the lean period where the availability of feed is scarce.