The utilization of banana meal as a substitute for traditional high energy feeds for lactating dairy cattle in Ecuador

Abstract

There is a need to develop feed sources for livestock production in Ecuador. Approximately 1.14 million metric tons of bananas are estimated to go to waste every year in Ecuador. These bananas are a potential source of livestock feed. The research was conducted as a field trial in collaboration with the National Institute of Agriculture and Livestock Research and the Swiss Technical Mission in Quito, Ecuador, at an altitude of 2850 m. Thirty purebred Holstein cows in the first 100 days of lactation were assigned to three treatment groups of ten each using randomized blocks based on production and number of lactations….