Department of Animal Science, Punjab Agricultural UniversityLudhiana141004, India
Online published on 5 January, 2012.
The chemical analysis of two varieties of Cowpea (Cowpea-74 and Cowpea-88) revealed that Cowpea-88 had 20.7 per cent CP, 40.2 per cent NDF and 16.1 per cent total ash, whereas respective values for Cowpea-74 were 19.1 per cent, 37.0 per cent and 21.8 per cent. The in-vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) of Cowpea-88 was 73.9 per cent as compared to 60.0 per cent in Cowpea-74. The voluntary DM intake and apparent digestibility of nutrients were higher in Cowpea-88 than in Cowpea-74. The levels of macro and micro-elements in both the varieties were reasonably higher than the recommended levels for dairy cattle. On the basis of the green matter and DM yield, and the quantity and quality of nutrients, the variety Cowpea-88 was superior to Cowpea-74.
