Cows fed hydroponic fodder and conventional diet: effects on milk quality

The technology of green fodder production is especially important in arid and semiarid regions. Hydroponics improves on average the amount of crops in the same space, as traditional soil-based farming and can reduce water consumption compared to traditional farming methods. Limited research has been...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archiv für Tierzucht 2019-08, Vol.62 (2), p.517-525
Main Authors: Agius, Alan, Pastorelli, Grazia, Attard, Everaldo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animal feeding and feeds
Arid regions
Cattle feed
Comparative literature
Comparative studies
Copper
Cow's milk
Dairy cattle
Dietary minerals
Farming
Farms
Fodder
Freezing
Freezing point
Hydroponics
Lactose
Lead
Melting points
Milk
Minerals
Organic chemistry
Original Study
pH effects
Principal components analysis
Qualitative analysis
Salts
Semi arid areas
Semiarid lands
Technology
Traditional farming
Variance analysis
Water
Water consumption
Zinc
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The technology of green fodder production is especially important in arid and semiarid regions. Hydroponics improves on average the amount of crops in the same space, as traditional soil-based farming and can reduce water consumption compared to traditional farming methods. Limited research has been carried out on the use of hydroponic fodder and milk quality. A comparative study of traditional (Malta farm) and hydroponic fodder (Gozo farm) was conducted in Malta with 20 cows of the Holstein–Friesian breed from two farms. Individual and bulk-tank milk samples were collected once a week for a period of 1 month in order to evaluate physical (pH, conductivity, density, freezing point) and chemical (fat, protein, ash, lactose, solid nonfat) parameters as well as mineral (Zn, Cu, Pb, Ba) content. Milk proximate and physical data were processed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures and an ANOVA procedure with farm and time as effects for minerals. The results indicated differences in fat content and pH, showing higher values (P
ISSN:2363-9822
0003-9438
2363-9822
DOI:10.5194/aab-62-517-2019