Study of effect of supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on the production performance of lactating Murrah buffalo under loose housing system

Abstract The present investigation has been undertaken to study the effect of Moringa oleifera supplementation on performance of lactating Murrah buffalo under loose housing system. Eighteen lactating Murrah buffaloes were assigned to three dietary treatment groups (T1, T2 and T3) resulting in six lactating buffaloes per treatment based on parity following factorial completely randomized design. The experiment was conducted for a period for 150 days postpartum (days in milk) to find the effect of supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal in following treatments, namely, T1(control)- Feeding of lactating buffaloes as per Indian Council of Agricultural Research standards (2013), T2-75 g MOLM/animal/day in ration,T3- 150 g MOLM/animal/day in ration. Significantly (P < 0.05) higher milk yield (kg), 6% FCM (kg), and lactose (%) were reported in T3 treatment group as compared to T1. Significantly (P < 0.05) higher milk fat (%) and solid Not Fat (%) and total solids (%) were reported in T2 and T3 treatment group as compared to T1 while milk protein (%) remain unchanged. Peak milk yield was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in T3 treatment groups as compared to T1 (control) but Days taken to attain peak milk yield did not differ significantly among different dietary treatments. Persistency period of peak milk yield were significantly (P < 0.05) greater in T3 treatment groups as compared to T1 (control). It is inferred that MOLM supplementation in ration up to 150 grams increases milk production and production traits as well as improved milk composition.