EFFECT OF CHOP LENGTHS OF BERSEEM (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) FODDER ON PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE AND NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY OF SAHIWAL COWS.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of chop lengths of berseem fodder on dry matter intake (DMI), water intake, milk production, milk composition and nutrients digestibility in Sahiwal cows. For this purpose, twelve Sahiwal midlactating cows of almost same weight and milk production were randomly assigned to three treatments in such a way that each treatment contained four cows. Cows received ad-libitum berseem fodder with: whole plant (WP) and two different chop lengths: medium chop length (MCL) (3.8 cm) and small chop length (SCL) (1.9 cm). Experimental period was 40 d long and consisted of 14 d of adaptation. Daily feed intake and water intake of individual animal were measured. In the last week digestibility was determined by using internal marker (acid insoluble ash). Results delineated that reducing the chop length of berseem fodder increased (P<0.05) DMI 9.24 to 11.25 kg/day. However, milk production (7 L/day) was not affected (P>0.05) by the varying chop lengths of berseem. Feeding WP berseem fodder increased (P<0.05) percentage of fat, total solids and ash compared to other ones. The digestibility of DM, protein, fat and neutral detergent fiber was increased (P<0.05) by feeding SCL berseem. However, there was no significant difference in fiber and acid detergent fiber digestibility, with all groups having 71% (mean) and 69% (mean), respectively. In conclusion, feeding WP berseem fodder could increase milk quality in term of increased milk fat, total solids and ash contents. As fodder chop length had no impact on milk production, WP berseem can be a useful option for improving milk quality in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]