Water hyacinths in animal nutrition: The present situation and new research approaches

Publikations-Art

Zeitschriftenbeitrag

Autoren

Becker, K.; Mahler, F.; Gall, C.F.

Erscheinungsjahr

1987

Veröffentlicht in

Animal Research and Development

Band/Volume

25/

Seite (von - bis)

45-65

Although the chemical composition of the water hyacinth seems to justify feeding it to ruminants, only low performance levels can he achieved in feeding experiments. Apart from the ash content resulting in a high reduction of dry- matter intake, the voluminous structure and the high water content, together with a high water-retention capacity and thus a low nutrient density of the water hyacinth green mass are responsible for the insufficient energy and protein intake in all water-hyacinth feeding. Mechanized chopping, pressing and subsequent fractionating of the pressed juice are used to change the physical structure of the water hyacinth biomass, squeezing out the bothersome water and eliminating components with negative effects. It can be expected that the final product of the process will be a high-quality ruminant feed. The resulting by-products can also be used in animal nutrition even for monogastric animals. The separated ash components should be offered to the ceramics industry for further processing.