Moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf meal as a source of protein in locally produced concentrates for dairy cows fed low protein diets in tropical areas

The effect on milk yield, milk composition and ration digestibility of using Moringa leaf meal as a protein source in concentrate given to six lactating dairy cows fed a basal Elephant grass diet was tested using a changeover 3 × 3 Latin square design, replicated twice. The basal Elephant grass diet and a concentrate containing 20% soybean meal was compared with a concentrate where the soybean meal was replaced with the same amount of Moringa leaf meal. In the third diet commercially available components were used to compose an “Iso” concentrate with the same energy and protein content as the concentrate containing Moringa leaf meal. The intake of dry matter, organic matter, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre did not differ significantly between treatments and averaged 15.4, 13.9, 7.2 and 5.9 kg day− 1, respectively, while crude protein (CP) intake was higher (P < 0.001) for the soybean meal treatment compared to the other treatments, 1.7 and 1.2 kg CP day− 1, respectively. The treatments did not differ with regard to digestibility with the exception of CP digestibility, which was significantly higher in the soybean meal treatment compared with the Iso concentrate, 0.70 and 0.62, respectively. Mean daily milk yield was significantly higher (P < 0.05) when cows were given soybean meal compared with both Moringa leaf meal and the optimized concentrate, 13.2, 12.3 and 12.1 kg day− 1, respectively. There was no significant difference between treatments in either the milk composition, or the organoleptic characteristics of the milk. The conclusion is that locally produced Moringa leaf meal can, at the same protein and energy levels, successfully replace the commercial constituents in concentrate for dairy cows.