Effect of feeding formaldehyde treated sesame (Sesamum Indicum L.) cake on reproductive efficiency and physiological responses of crossbred cows

An experiment was conducted on 15 crossbred (Holstein Friesian x Tharparkar) cows (BW 393.80±16.15 kg) to study the effect of feeding formaldehyde treated sesame cake on reproductive efficiency and physiological responses. The animals were randomly divided into three equal groups and allotted to three dietary treatments viz., T1: green berseem and concentrate containing untreated sesame cake (control); T2: green berseem and concentrate containing 1.0% formaldehyde treated (1.0 g FA/100g CP) sesame cake and T3: green berseem and concentrate containing 1.5% formaldehyde treated (1.5 g FA/100g CP) sesame cake. Sorghum stover was fed ad libitum in all the groups. The CP and TDN contents of the three diets did not vary significantly among the diets. The DM intake (%BW) was significantly (P<0.05) higher in T3 (3.14±0.02) followed by T2 (2.70±0.10) and T1 (2.63±0.06). There was significant (P<0.05) difference between the treatments for mean daily intake of CP and TDN, which was higher in T3 than T2 and T1. The digestibility coefficients of CF and EE were significantly (P<0.05) higher in T3 than T2 and T1. The indices of post partum reproductive efficiency were higher in T3 as compared to T2 and T1. The number of services per conception did not differ significantly among groups, though the values were lower in T3 group. It may be concluded that the feeding of protected protein in the form of 1.5% formaldehyde treated sesame cake showed a significant improvement in the over all reproductive performance of the crossbred cows.