Influencia nas características da carne com a inclusão de silagem de milheto na dieta de novilhas terminadas em confinamento

Abstract

The quality of meat is an essential factor for competitiveness in livestock, reflecting the increasing demands of the consumer market. These characteristics depend on factors such as nutrition, management, genetics, slaughter age, and animal health. Pearl millet silage emerges as a promising alternative for cattle feed due to its hardiness, adaptability to low-fertility soils, and high biomass production. This study aimed to evaluate the productive performance of 72 F1 heifers (Angus x Nelore) finished in confinement, receiving different levels of inclusion of AFRf 6010 pearl millet hybrid silage (40, 50, 60, and 70%). The experiment was conducted at Fazenda PePe, in Terenos-MS, over 98 days (14 days of adaptation and 84 days of data collection). The design was completely randomized, with three pens per treatment and six animals per pen. At the end, the animals were subjected to a 24-hour solid fasting and slaughtered at a commercial abattoir, according to RIISPOA (2017). The carcasses were identified and weighed to obtain the hot carcass weight (HCW) and stored at 4 ºC for 24 hours, and the carcass yield (CY) was calculated. For subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT) and ribeye area (REA), 24 heifers (six per treatment), two heifers from each pen, were used. There was no significant effect (P>0.05) of silage inclusion on REA, but a negative linear effect (P<0.05) was observed on HCW, CY, and SFT. It is concluded that the levels of ADRf 6010 millet silage inclusion influenced the carcass characteristics of heifers.