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Citation of this paper

Growth response and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens fed dried cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) apple pulp in replacement for maize

I K Yisa and O G Longe

University of Ibadan, Department of Animal Science, Ibadan. Oyo State, Nigeria
zakeimjoy@gmail.com

Abstract

A four weeks feeding trial was conducted with four week-old unsexed chickens (n=250) using dried cashew apple pulp at 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% replacement for maize. The chickens were allotted to 5 treatments with 5 replicates each of 10 birds in a randomized design. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. There were linear increases in feed intake and feed conversion and a linear decrease in live weight gain as maize was replaced by dried cashew apple pulp. The percentages of edible components of the carcass were not affected by increasing proportions of dried cashew pulp in the diet, except for % of thigh which was reduced at the highest level of maize substitution.

It is concluded that to 10% of the maize in broiler chicken diets can be substituted by dried cashew fruit pulp with no loss of performance as measured by growth rate, feed conversion and carcass conformation. However, if account is taken of the advantages for climate change and biodiversity, of reducing imports of ingredients (whose production in many exporting countries is the cause of deforestation and loss of biodiversity), then a substitution rate of 20% and perhaps higher could be justified.

Keywords: alternative feed ingredients, biodiversity, climate change, fruit waste, imports


Introduction

The competition between humans, industry and livestock for maize has led to increased prices (Ranum et al 2014), thus promoting the search for alternatives.

The commercial chicken industry in Nigeria is highly dependent on imports of maize and soya bean mainly from Brazil and the USA (Heise et al 2015). About 400,000 MT of maize has been imported yearly in 2018 and 2019 (Nzeka 2019). There is thus a strong incentive to search for alternatives. Nigeria produced 958,860 tonnes of cashew nuts in 2016 (FAOSTAT 2018) with the rest of the cashew fruit (the pulp) mostly being wasted. As the pulp represents 90% of the fruit (Attri 2009), the total production of pulp is of the order of 9 million tonnes. The pulp could thus be an alternative feed ingredient in animal feeds.

Adebowale et al (2011) reported a lowering of feed cost when dried cashew apple pulp was used to substitute groundnut cake in the diets of Clarias gariepinus. The replacement of maize by dried cashew apple in the diets of Vanaraja chicks resulted in the lowering of feed cost per kg liveweight gain according to Swain et al (2007). Yisa et al (2017) observed better feed conversion rate and higher weight gain in broiler chickens fed 10% dried cashew apple pulp.

Against this background, the objective of our experiment was to determine the extent to which dried cashew fruit pulp could replace maize in the diets of broiler chickens.


Materials and methods

Location

The experiment was carried out at the Poultry Unit of the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The study was approved by the Research Committee of the Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan.

Feed ingredients

Cashew apples were collected from Aremu Farms in Iwo, Osun State Nigeria. After the nuts were removed from freshly dropped cashew fruit, the remaining pulp was chopped into small pieces which were late passed through a mechanical press to remove excess liquid. The pulp was then dried for 7 days to a consistent moisture level.

Experimental birds, diets and management

One-day-old Arbor Acre Plus chicks (n=250) were raised on deep litter of wood shavings. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. Routine vaccines and medications were administered. The birds were fed on a commercial starter diet 28 days after which they were randomly allocated to five treatments with five replicates and 10 birds per replicate.

Five diets were formulated in which dried cashew apple pulp replaced 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% of the maize (Table 1). Feed intake and weight gain were recorded over the 28 days of the trial, after which two birds per replicate were slaughtered and carcass parameters measured.

Table 1. Composition of broiler finisher diets

Dried cashew apple pulp replacement for maize (%)

0

5

10

15

20

Maize

58.3

55.4

52.5

49.6

46.8

Cashew apple pulp

0

2.92

5.83

8.75

11.7

Soybean meal

15.5

15.5

15.5

15.5

15.5

Full-fat Soybean

19.1

19.1

19.1

19.1

19.1

Wheat offal

3

3

3

3

3

DiCalPhos.

1.28

1.25

1.25

1.25

1.25

Salt

0.25

0.25

0.25

0.25

0.25

Vit-min premix

0.25

0.25

0.25

0.25

0.25

Methionine

0.15

0.15

0.15

0.15

0.15

Lysine

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

Limestone

1.65

1.65

1.65

1.65

1.65

Palm oil

0.65

0.65

0.65

0.65

0.65

2.5kg of Premix contains: Vitamin A 12,500,000.00I.U., Vitamin D3 2,500,000.00I.U., Iron 100,000.00mg, Zinc 80,000.00, Copper 8,500mg, Iodine 1,500.00mg, Cobalt 300.00mg, Selenium 120.00mg, Anti-oxidant 120,000.00mg Vitamin E 40,0000.00mg, Vitamin K 2.000.00mg, Vitamin B1 3,000.00mg, Vitamin B2 5,5000.00mg,, Niacin 55,000.00, Calcium Pantothenate 11,500.00mg, Vitamin B12 25.00, Choline Chloride 500,000.00mg, Folic acid 1,000.00, Biotin 80.00mg, Manganese 120,00 Vitamins and Trace Minerals Vitamin 0.00, Iron 100,000.00mg, Zinc 80,000.00, Copper 8,500mg, Iodine 1,500.00mg, Cobalt 300.00mg, Selenium 120.00mg, Anti-oxidant120,000.00mg



Table 2. Calculated analysis of the diets (% in DM)

Dried cashew apple pulp replacement for maize (%)

0

5

10

15

20

Crude protein

19.97

20.03

20.09

20.15

20.23

Crude fiber

3.64

3.82

3.99

4.16

4.34

Calcium

0.977

0.983

0.988

0.995

1.000

Available phosphorus

0.48

0.48

0.48

0.48

0.48

Lysine

1.02

1.02

1.03

1.04

1.04

Methionine

0.309

0.310

0.310

0.310

0.310

Statisistical analysis

Data were subjected to analysis of variance using the general linear model in the ANOVA program of the SPSS17.0 software. Sources of variation in the model were treatments and error.


Results

There were linear increases in feed intake and feed conversion and a linear decrease in live wight gain as maize was replaced by dried cashew apple pulp (Table 3). Similar findings for 20% replacement of maize by dried cashew pulp were reported by Song and Seng (2008). The percentages of edible components of the carcass were not affected by increasing proportions of dried cashew pulp in the diet (Table 4), except for thigh% which was increased.

Table 3. Performance characteristics of broiler chickens fed dried cashew apple pulp in replacement for maize

Dried cashew apple pulp, %

SEM

p

0

5

10

15

20

Weight gain, g/d

49.98a

51.26a

53.74a

48.46ab

42.55b

1.23

<0.01

Feed intake, g/d

149a

152ab

151ab

161b

160b

1.76

<0.01

Feed conversion#

2.98bc

2.97bc

2.82c

3.32a

3.77a

0.090

<0.01

abc Means along the same row without common superscript differ at p<0.05 #Feed intake/weight gain



Table 4. Carcass characteristics (as % of weight of carcass) of broiler chickens fed dried cashew apple pulp in replacement for maize

Dried cashew apple pulp, %

SEM

p

0

5

10

15

20

Breast

21.1

21.2

20.8

20.5

19.8

0.33

0.74

Thigh

10.8ab

11.0ab

11.5ab

12.1b

10.0.a

0.20

0.01

Drumstick

10.30

10.6

9.48

10.1

10.6

0.17

0.23

Back

13.8

14.4

14.7

15.0

13.8

0.23

0.24

Wings

8.31

8.02

8.45

8.44

8.46

0.94

0.55

abc Means along the same row without common superscript differ at p<0.05


Discussion

The chickens responded to replacement of maize by dried cashew pulp by increasing their feed intake (Figure 1), The increased feed intake helped to sustain the growth rate until 10% of the maize was replaced by cashew pulp, but beyond this point the daily weight gain decreased linearly (Figure 2). The linear increase in feed intake and linear reduction in weight gain beyond 10% maize substitution resulted in a linear deterioration in feed conversion over the whole range (0-20%) of substitution of maize by dried cashew pulp (Figure 3).

Figure 1. Trend in feed intake of broiler chickens fed dried
cashew apple pulp in replacement for maize

Figure 2. Trend in weight gain of broiler chickens as dried
cashew apple pulp replaced maize

Figure 3. Trend in feed conversion of broiler chickens fed dried
cashew pulp in partial replacement for maize
Figure 4. Trend in thigh percent in the carcass of broiler chickens
fed dried cashew pulp as partial replacement for maize


Conclusions


References

Adebowale B A, Olubamiwa O and Ogunjobi M A 2011 Substitution value of sundried cashew apple bagasse in the diets of Clarias gariepinus http://www.interesjournals.org/IRJAS

Attri B L 2009 Effect of initial sugar concentration on the physic-chemical characteristics and sensory quality of cashew apple wine. Natural Product Radiance 8(4) http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/5996

FAOSTAT 2018 Food and Agricultural Organization Statistical Databases. Retrieved October 19, 2018 from  www.fao.org>faostat

Heise H, Crisan A and Theuvsen L 2015 The poultry market in Nigeria: Structures and potential for investment in the market. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review

Nzeka U M 2019 Nigeria grain and feed annual 2019: Nigeria’s imports of wheat and rice to rise. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Global Agricultura; Information Network. GAIN Report Number: NG-19002 apps.fas.usda.gov>api>report>downloadreportbyfilename>filena

Ranum P, Peņa-Rosas J P and Garcia-Casal M N 2014 Global maize production, utilization and consumption.Annals of the New York Academy of Science 1312(1) https://doi.org/10.1111/nyasS

Song and Seng 2008 Nutritive value of cashew apple for growing ducks. Tropentag Book of Abstracts 360. dpg.phytomedizin.org > fileadmin > tagungen >_Tropentag > Doku

Swain B K, Sundaram R N S and Barbuddhe S B 2007 Effect of feeding cashew apple waste replacing maize on the performance of broilers. www.researchgate.net > publication>277325030

Yisa I K, Longe O G, Awojulugbe O, Oshibanjo O 2017 Performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens fed dried cashew apple pulp in replacement for maize Annals of Nutritional Metabolism2017; 71(supple 2):144/ 2967 Oral Abstracts. www.karger.com>Journal>Issue


Received 14 March 2020; Accepted 6 April 2020; Published 1 May 2020

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