THE COMPARATIVE VALUE OF SOME CONCENTRATES IN THE FEED OF
GROWING CATTLE
By N. C. DAS GUPTA, Research Officer, Cattle Feeding Research Station, Bharari, Jhansi
(Received for publication on 2 February 1945)
(With one text-figure)
CONCENTRATES can be broadly classified into
three groups according to the composition. Lin-
seed cake, decorticated and undecorticated ground-
nut cakes, til (Sesamum indicum) cake, rape
cake, cottonseed cake and guar (Cyamopsis
psoralioides) are the common concentrates of
India, having a protein content of over 30 per
cent. Coconut cake, cotton seed, pulses (legume
seeds) and pulse by-products are moderately rich
in protein and have nutritive ratios similar to the
standard required for production. Cereal grains
make the third group of concentrates which are
comparatively rich in carbohydrates but low in
protein content.
This paper deals with the feeding value, for the
production of growth, of five oil cakes, viz. linseed
cake, decorticated and undecorticated groundnut
cakes, rape cake and til cake and four legume seeds
or their by-products, viz. guar, gram (Cicer
trietinum), arhar (Cajanus indicus) chuni and mung
Phaseolus mungo) chuni. The chuni is the by-
product from the manufacture of split pulse (dal)
or human consumption. It contains chiefly
the hulls, along with the germs and broken parti-
--es of the seed. In all the tests of this series,
unseed cake was used as the control, because it is
one of the most popular protein supplements
or cattle and produces good results even when
used as the only concentrate.
FEEDING TRIAL WITH LINSEED CAKE,
UNDECOR-
------- GROUNDNUT CAKE, GRAM AND ARHAR
chuni (1940)
In August 1940, tests to find out the comparative
feeding values of linseed cake, undecorticated
groundnut cake, gram and arhar chuni for growth
were started with 20 Hissar heifers. The basal
ation, which consisted of wheat straw ad lib.,
1lb. jowar (Sorghum vulgare) silage, 1.55 lb. wheat
ran and linseed cake for protein supplement,
was fed to all the animals for a period of eight
weeks and thereafter they were distributed into
our comparable groups according to age, live-
weight and rate of growth during the basal period.
For the experimental feeding, group I was allowed
to continue the basal ration and groups II, III
and IV received groundnut cake, gram and arhar
chuni respectively in place of linseed cake, the
quantity being regulated to maintain the same level
of protein for different groups. Records of daily
liveweight and food consumption for each animal
were maintained during the test which lasted for
a period of 21 weeks. The distribution of animals
for the different treatments and their liveweight
increase during the experimental period have been
recorded in Table I.
Rate of growth with the different rations. The
rate of growth by the different treatments has
been statistically analysed and the summary of
the results is shown in Table II. Undecorticated
groundnut cake produced the lowest average
growth rate. Linseed cake came next and,
though the average growth rate is very signi-
ficantly higher than that with groundnut cake,
it is lower than that with gram and arhar chuni.
The difference between gram and arhar chuni
is not significant. The fall in the growth rate
from gram to linseed cake is 19.48 per cent, from
gram to groundnut cake is 53.60 per cent, and
from linseed cake to groundnut cake 34.12 per
cent, the critical difference at 5 per cent level being
12.97 per cent. Similarly, between arhar chuni
and linseed cake and between arhar chuni and
undecorticated groundnut cake the differences in
the average growth rates are 23.35 and 57.47 per
cent respectively, the critical difference being
14.50 per cent. The variations due to treatments
in the case of average rate of change of growth
rate is also significant.
FEEDING
TRIAL
WITH
LINSEED
CAKE,
DECORTI-
----- GROUNDNUT CAKE, RAPE CAKE
AND MUNG chuni (1941)
Sixteen Hissar heifers were selected for this
test in September, 1941. The basal ration was
the same as in the previous test, except that rape
cake was fed instead of linseed cake during this
period as it was found that animals do not relish
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