Work

Partial Replacement of Corn with Jackfruit Silage Maintains Productive Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Feedlot Lambs

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Dependence on corn may increase feed costs and supply vulnerability in tropical livestock systems. This study evaluated replacing corn with whole-fruit jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) silage in feedlot lamb diets. Sixteen castrated male Santa Inês crossbred lambs (26.2 ± 3.6 kg) received diets in which jackfruit silage replaced 0, 333, 666, or 1000 g/kg of corn dry matter in the concentrate. Jackfruit silage had lower non-fibrous carbohydrate gas volume (132.9 vs. 182.9 mL), degradation rate (0.081 vs. 0.096 h−1), and total carbohydrate gas volume (238.5 vs. 298.2 mL) than corn (p < 0.05). Dry matter intake increased linearly, whereas organic matter digestibility, final body weight, and total weight gain decreased linearly as replacement increased (p ≤ 0.011). Feed conversion ratio increased from 6.6 to 12.3 kg dry matter intake/kg gain. Nevertheless, 333 g/kg replacement maintained 98.5% of final body weight and 96.0% of total weight gain. Carcass yields and Longissimus muscle area were unaffected. One-third replacement reduced corn use by 26.2% per kilogram of gain while maintaining productive viability. Jackfruit silage is therefore a strategic partial, rather than complete, substitute for corn in tropical sheep diets.

Source: Animals

DOI: 10.3390/ani16172667