Faculty of Food and Production

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    Combined yeast culture and enzymatically hydrolysed yeast has potential to improve ruminal ADF digestion and modify CP degradability dependent on substrate.
    (2024) Hughes, Martin
    Rationale: Live yeast cultures have been a popular additive in ruminant feeds to improve fermentation efficiency, rumen, and intestinal health. However, very little is known about inactive yeast culture and hydrolysable yeast cells on nutrient digestibility in ruminants. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a combined yeast culture and enzymatically hydrolysed yeast (YC+EHY) on in vitro ruminal dry matter and nutrient digestibility of contrasting substrates. Materials and methods: The experiment was conducted in the Animal Nutrition laboratory in the Department of Food Production, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus between January to March 2023. Seven chemically contrasting substrates including leaves and petiole of forage plants (Trichanthera gigantea, Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephala and Brachiaria arrecta), agriculture by-products (soybean meal, rice hulls) and a commercial concentrate feed for dairy cattle were incubated in vitro with and without YC+EHY to determine dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility after 24- and 48-hours incubation (ANKOM Technology, method no. 3). Most feedstuffs were collected at the University of the West Indies Field Station or commercial dairy farms in Trinidad & Tobago over a 2-week period. These feedstuffs are widely used to feed ruminant animals in tropical environments as either supplemental or basal feedstuffs. A second experiment evaluated in vitro CP degradability by incubating the same substrates for 0-, 2-, 4-, 8-, 16-, 24-, and 48-hours with and without YC+EHY.
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    Raw data of feed used by farmers in Trinidad and Tobago
    (2023) Hughes, Martin
    Title: Nitrogen and crude protein fractions of commercial ruminant feeds in Trinidad and Tobago varies with feed type Rationale: Commercial concentrates are the main supplemental feeds used by farmers in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) to off-set nutritional or herbage deficit of forage-based diets for ruminants. While the CP contents of these commercial feeds are known, the quality of the protein for different classes of ruminants is unknown. Objective: This study examined the nitrogen (N), crude protein fractions and ruminal CP degradability of the most popular concentrate feeds used for feeding ruminants in T&T. Materials & methods: The 8 most popular ruminant feeds manufactured by the 2 leading feed manufacturers in T&T were selected for this study. Each feed type had 4 replicates. A maximum of 2 replicates were collected from the same location. Samples were collected over a 5-month period. Only 1 of the 4 replicates for each feed type was collected in the same month to ensure samples collected were from different batches and therefore adequately represented the feed-type produced by the manufacturer. Feed samples were analysed for N fractions by a modification of the Licitra et al., (1996) borate-phosphate method with extraction via the ANKOM F57 fibre bag in the DAISY II incubator. In vitro ruminal CP degradability was determined post 3, 6, 12 and 24 hrs incubation in buffered rumen inoculum. Degradability data were fitted to the Orskov and McDonold (1979) model to determine degradability parameters.