Jackfruit leaves can totally replace traditional grass in the diet of lactating dairy goats

Figures & data

Table 1. Chemical composition (% DM unless otherwise noted) of feed and diets.

Item	Feed			Diet^b
	Conc^a	PG	JL	JL0	JL50	JL75	JL100
DM	88.9	18.0	38.5	46.3	52.5	55.6	58.6
OM	91.4	88.1	82.7	89.4	87.8	87.0	86.2
Ash	8.60	11.9	17.3	10.6	12.2	13.0	13.8
CP	21.1	11.7	12.4	15.4	15.7	15.8	15.9
SCP	14.3	4.92	3.41	8.66	8.21	7.98	7.75
SCP/CP, %	67.6	42.2	27.5	52.3	47.9	45.7	43.5
EE	4.03	1.57	2.52	2.56	2.84	2.98	3.12
NDF	38.1	60.0	35.1	51.2	43.8	40.0	36.3
ADF	16.0	32.5	29.1	25.9	24.9	24.4	23.9
ADL	11.3	7.90	19.4	9.24	12.7	14.4	16.1
NFC	28.2	14.8	32.7	20.2	25.5	28.2	30.9
GE, MCal/kg DM	3.91	3.94	3.93	3.93	3.92	3.92	3.92
Total tannins	0.53	3.61	12.6	2.38	5.09	6.44	7.80

^a Conc = Concentrate (as 100% DM): 32.3% soybean meal, 29.3% ground corn, 35% rice bran, 0.9% limestone, 0.6% DCP, 0.5% NaCl, and 1.4% premix of mineral and vitamin. Mineral and vitamin mix: provided per kg of premix including 450,000 IU vitamin A, 70,000 IU vitamin D₃, 1,800 mg vitamin E, 320 g Ca, 57 g P, 32.5 g Mg, 11 g Na, 4.5 g Zn, 4.9 g Mn, 1 g Fe, 1 g Cu, 55 mg Se, and 40 mg biotin.

^b JL0, JL50, JL75, JL100: jackfruit leaves replaced for Para grass at ratios of 0, 50, 75 and 100% in the diets, respectively.

Table 2. Feed and nutrient intakes (g DM/d unless otherwise noted).

Item	Diet^1				SEM	P-value	Contrast^2
	JL0	JL50	JL75	JL100			L	Q
Concentrate	618^b	749^a	787^a	830^a	43.4	<0.01	<0.01	0.09
Para grass	871^a	507^b	274^b	0^c	107	<0.01	<0.01	0.43
Jackfruit leaves	0^c	581^b	907^ab	1310^a	166	<0.01	<0.01	0.32
Total DM	1,489^b	1,837^a	1,969^a	2,140^a	126	<0.01	<0.01	0.21
DM, % BW	3.92^b	4.88^a	5.21^a	5.68^a	0.33	<0.01	<0.01	0.19
OM	1332^b	1611^a	1709^a	1840^a	106	<0.01	<0.01	0.21
Ash	157^c	226^b	259^ab	300^a	22.2	<0.01	<0.01	0.25
CP	233^b	291^a	314^a	338^a	19.9	<0.01	<0.01	0.13
EE	38.5^c	52.6^b	58.7^ab	66.1^a	4.03	<0.01	<0.01	0.15
NDF	757	791	780	773	55.0	0.85	0.77	0.48
ADF	382^b	454^ab	480^a	514^a	32.4	<0.01	<0.01	0.30
ADL	138^c	237^b	286^ab	348^a	27.1	<0.01	<0.01	0.22
NFC	303^c	476^b	559^ab	662^a	46.4	<0.01	<0.01	0.18

¹ JL0, JL50, JL75, JL100: jackfruit leaves replaced for Para grass at ratios of 0, 50, 75 and 100% in the diets, respectively.

² Linear (L) and quadratic (Q) effects of diets.

^a–d Means within a row with different superscripts are significantly different (P < 0.05).

Table 3. Total-tract digestibility and nitrogen balance.

Item	Diet^1				SEM	P-value	Contrast^2
	JL0	JL50	JL75	JL100			L	Q
Digestibility, %
DM	66.4^a	61.7^ab	57.9^b	58.8^b	3.07	0.03	<0.01	0.12
OM	68.6	65.1	62.0	62.8	2.72	0.05	0.01	0.167
CP	78.2^a	70.2^b	61.6^c	58.8^c	3.22	<0.01	<0.01	0.16
NDF	59.2^a	48.1^b	40.6^b	38.6^b	4.19	<0.01	<0.01	0.07
Nitrogen balance, g/d
Intake	37.2^b	46.6^a	50.3^a	54.0^a	3.18	<0.01	<0.01	0.13
Feces	8.11^c	13.7^bc	19.7^ab	22.2^a	2.70	<0.01	<0.01	0.31
Urine	11.5	10.6	9.72	8.59	1.49	0.13	0.03	0.84
Milk	9.02	8.09	8.29	8.76	0.85	0.45	0.77	0.15
Retention	8.60	14.2	12.6	14.4	2.84	0.09	0.04	0.23

¹ JL0, JL50, JL75, JL100: jackfruit leaves replaced for Para grass at ratios of 0, 50, 75 and 100% in the diets, respectively.

² Linear (L) and quadratic (Q) effects of diets.

^a–c Means within a row with different superscripts are significantly different (P < 0.05).

Table 4. Ruminal fermentation patterns.

Item	Diet^1				SEM	P-value	Contrast^2
	JL0	JL50	JL75	JL100			L	Q
pH	6.73	6.72	6.67	6.62	0.07	0.48	0.15	0.76
NH3-N, mg/dL	21.8	23.0	24.6	23.1	3.35	0.87	0.62	0.59
VFA, mM	72.8^b	77.5^b	85.9^a	77.4^b	3.54	0.03	0.08	0.04
VFA proportion, %
Acetate	59.1^b	58.0^b	61.8^a	59.9^ab	1.15	0.04	0.12	0.63
Propionate	21.1^a	20.5^ab	19.2^c	20.0^b	0.46	0.02	0.01	0.06
Butyrate	11.9	12.1	12.6	12.1	0.41	0.43	0.42	0.27
Valerate	2.42	2.42	2.15	2.44	0.11	0.09	0.59	0.10
Iso-butyrate	1.80	2.70	1.66	1.92	0.44	0.15	0.64	0.32
Iso-valerate	3.66	4.27	2.56	3.62	0.64	0.12	0.38	0.62
A/P	2.80^b	2.84^b	3.29^a	3.03^ab	0.13	0.02	0.03	0.15

¹ JL0, JL50, JL75, JL100: jackfruit leaves replaced for Para grass at ratios of 0, 50, 75 and 100% in the diets, respectively.

² Linear (L) and quadratic (Q) effects of diets.

^a,b Means within a row with different superscripts are significantly different (P < 0.05).

Table 5. Milk yield and composition.

Item	Diet^1				SEM	P-value	Contrast^2
	JL0	JL50	JL75	JL100			L	Q
Milk yield, g/d	1800	1917	1992	1966	46.6	0.09	0.03	0.18
Component, %
Fat	3.69	3.62	3.63	3.71	0.16	0.97	0.93	0.66
Protein	2.92	2.88	2.78	2.92	0.05	0.24	0.64	0.13
Lactose	4.46	4.38	4.45	4.46	0.05	0.68	0.76	0.44
Total solids	11.5	11.4	11.3	11.5	0.23	0.89	0.94	0.50
Solid not fat	8.01	7.95	7.87	8.01	0.09	0.70	0.84	0.33
BUN, mmol/L	8.07	8.80	7.47	7.10	0.65	0.55	0.24	0.63
Initial live weight, kg	38.1	37.1	36.8	37.3	1.32	0.58	0.41	0.29
Final live weight, kg	37.5	38.6	38.8	38.2	1.12	0.43	0.37	0.28

¹ JL0, JL50, JL75, JL100: jackfruit leaves replaced for Para grass at ratios of 0, 50, 75 and 100% in the diets, respectively.

² Linear (L) and quadratic (Q) effects of diets.

^a,b Means within a row with different superscripts are significantly different (P < 0.05).