Effects of Using Indian Mulberry Leaves as Feed Additives on Feed Digestion, Ruminal Fermentation and Milk Production in Dairy Cattle

The study considers the effects of the use of Indian mulberry leaves as feed additives on dairy cattle performances. Eight Holstein-Friesian crossbreeds with an average of 475.7 kg/BW were used. The experiment utilized 4 x 4 Replicated Latin Square Design (LSD) that consisted of 4 levels of Indian mulberry leaves additives: 0, 7.5, 10 and 12.5 g/kg DM in total mixed ration (TMR) diet based on rice straw was used as the main roughage source. The trial consisted of four periods of 21 days each. The results from this study showed that there was no effect on DMI. However, the digestibility of DM showed significant difference (p0.05). However, Indian mulberry leaves at 10 g/kg DM could be used in dairy cattle feeding to improve the digestibility of feed DM and maintaining ruminal pH without affecting ruminal fermentation and milk production.