Nutritive Values of Major Feed Ingredient in Tropics - Review -

Majority of livestocks are kept in the tropics. Demand for animal products (meat and milk) is continuously increasing and is related to human population growth. Consequently, potential feeds should be continuously identified particularly on their nutritive values. Crop residues and agricultural by-products are the main feed sources for feeding livestock in the tropics. Their nutritive values ranging from low to medium quality level although Some agricultural by-products such as cotton seed meal and coconut meal are rich in nitrogaen contents. From literatures, nutritive values in these ingredients are mainly based on their chemical composition and to some extent based on limited number of in vivo studies. However, optimum of inclusion in the diet is suggested. Development of tree legumes should be thoroughly considered since they grow well in most tropical regions. In order to improve nutritive value of tropical feeds, biological treatments should be considered. Effect of secondary compounds decreasing efficiency of nutrient utilization in the rumen, to some extent could be reduced by introducing probiotics.