Nutritional Evaluation of Hydroponic Maize (Zea mays) Grain Sprouts as a Newer Green Feed Resource in Lambs

Background: Maize (Zea mays) grain sprouts (MGS) can be a potential source of green fodder for ruminants, especially when there is scarcity of land and water. Nutritional value of MGS grown with hydroponic technique was assessed for nutrient utilization, blood biochemical profile, immunity and growth performance in lambs. Methods: The MGS were produced in a polyhouse and harvested on 10th day and subjected to rumen in vitro incubation for gas production (RIVIGP) test to predict metabolisable energy (ME) value. The feeding cum growth trial was conducted for 120 days. Eighteen healthy male lambs of 3-4 months age and comparable body weight were randomly allotted in a complete randomized design to three dietary groups of six in each. The control (T1) group lambs were fed conventional green fodder (CGF), finger millet straw (FMS) and compounded feed mixture (CFM) at 50:10:40 ratio on DM basis, In treatment group two (T2), proportion of CGF and CFM was reduced by 50% and substituted with 45% MGS on DM basis (CGF, FMS, CFM and MGS on total DM basis was in 25:10:20:45 ratio, respectively). In treatment group three (T3), CGF was completely replaced with MGS (80%) and CFM was reduced to 25% of control (CGF, FMS, CFM and MGS on total DM basis was in 0:10:10:80 ratio, respectively). Result: Results indicated that MGS has ME (MJ/kg DM) of 9.70. The average DM intake (g/d/lamb) in T1, T2 and T3 groups was 764, 581 and 398, respectively. The average daily gain (ADG, g) in T1, T2 and T3 groups was 77.3, 48.5 and 20.9, respectively. There was a significant (P less than 0.05) decrease in DMI and ADG with reduced feed efficiency in lambs fed MGS. However, the per cent digestibility of nutrients, blood biochemical profile, immunity and serum minerals in lambs did not differ among the groups. It is concluded that replacement of compounded feed mixture or conventional green fodder with MGS will limit the dry matter intake, net nutrient availability and negatively affect the growth performance in lambs.