SILAGEM DO ABACAXIZEIRO PARA ALIMENTAÇÃO DE RUMINANTES

Abstract

Forage production goes through periods of seasonality in production, livestock farmers resort to alternative foods to get through times when there is a decrease in both the quantity and quality of forage. Brazil, being one of the largest pineapple producers in Latin America, consequently generates estimated values of cultural remains of the fruit, which are often of no use. However, in some regions of Brazil, crop residues are already used to feed ruminants, fresh or ensiled. To silage any material, it is necessary to present some characteristics relevant to this action and studies have shown that the cultural remains of the pineapple plant have some of these characteristics. Thus, the objective of this study was to review the literature on the use of ensiled pineapple crop remains as an alternative source of food for ruminants. The pineapple tree is semi-evergreen, with a cycle of 11 to 24 months. Cutting crop residues to feed animals can be done manually or mechanized. The crude protein content of silage from pineapple crop residues is similar to that of corn, with values of up to 7.0% being found. The raw material has high humidity, which creates a limitation to the material, therefore additives that sequester moisture can be used to increase the dry matter. Studies on the use of pineapple crop remains present a high coefficient of variation, mainly in relation to the contents of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent insoluble fiber (NDF) and acid detergent insoluble fiber (ADF), parameters that directly influence the consumption and digestibility of food, such differences lead to the need for further studies on the use of the material to supply animals. Thus, it was observed that the cultural remains of the pineapple plant have potential for use in feeding ruminants, in natura or in the form of silage, but further studies with standardized methodologies of the material are necessary.