While finger millet is grown for fodder, most of the information available is about the straw, which is an important by-product of the grain crop.
Since finger millet straw is of poor nutritive value, it must be supplemented with nitrogen and energy sources in order to meet maintenance or production requirements. As with other cereal straws, its nutritive value can be improved by urea and ammonia treatment, but supplementation must be adapted accordingly.
Dairy cows
Some examples of milk production and weight gain obtained with crossbred dairy cows fed with finger millet straw as the roughage with variable amount of concentrate are presented in the table below.
| Body weight (kg) |
Lactation stage |
Finger millet straw
DM Intake (kg/d)
|
Concentrate
DM Intake (kg/d) |
Green grass
DM Intake (kg/d) |
Milk yield (kg/d) |
Daily weight gain (g/d) |
Experimental conditions |
Reference |
| 400 |
ns |
7.5 |
4.7 |
- |
7.8 |
- |
Energy limited |
Chandrasekharaiah et al., 2004
|
| 400 |
ns |
7.6 |
5.0 |
- |
8.7 |
- |
Energy requirement adjusted with maize |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 390 |
mid |
4.1 |
7.7 |
- |
9.1 |
219 |
Without a source of tannin |
Bhatta et al., 2000
|
| 390 |
mid |
4.0 |
7.6 |
- |
9.4 |
231 |
With a tannin source (0.2 kg/d) |
| 390 |
mid |
3.9 |
7.6 |
- |
9.0 |
329 |
With a tannin source (0.6 kg/d) |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 355 |
late |
2.3 |
3.9 |
3.9 |
7.0 |
180 |
- |
Gowda et al., 2005 |
| ns |
late |
3.0 |
4.1 |
5.4 |
7.7 |
- |
- |
Prasad et al., 2005 |
ns: not specified
Finger millet straw can be used as forage in diets for crossbred dairy cows supplemented with a balanced concentrate mixture (energy and protein). Such diets allow 8 to 9 kg milk yield (Chandrasekharaiah et al., 2004; Bhatta et al., 2000) and a body weight gain of 200-300 g/d (Bhatta et al., 2000). Finger millet straw supplemented with 5 to 20 kg of green maize (Deshmukh et al., 1995) or 3.9 kg DM of Para grass (Brachiaria mutica), plus 3.9 kg DM concentrate (Gowda et al., 2005), produced a daily milk yield of 3.1-3.2 kg/d in 250 kg dairy cows (Deshmukh et al., 1995). Heavier animals, of 350 kg, on a similar diet had a milk yield of 7.7 kg/d (Gowda et al., 2005). Urea-treated finger millet straw supplemented with 5 kg green maize supported a daily milk yield of 3.5 kg/d in 250 kg local breed dairy cows (Deshmukh et al., 1995).
Growing heifers
Finger millet straw can be offered as sole feed to crossbred heifers (average 230 kg) to meet maintenance requirements if offered in sufficient quantities to allow for a refusal rate above 30%, thus giving a maximum DM intake of 70 g/kg W0.75 (Rao et al., 1994). Finger millet straw is a valuable forage for growing heifers when supplemented with wheat bran (25%) and groundnut cake (Prasad et al., 1997). Finger millet straw can be used as forage for growing heifers (155 kg) supplemented with a small amount of concentrate (0.89 kg DM). Dry matter intake of the straw was about 3.5 kg/d and the daily weight gain was 310-350 g/d (Darshan et al., 2007). Finger millet straw can be used as forage in diets of replacement heifers fed with a well-balanced supplement (nitrogen and energy) without any reproductive problems (Gupta et al., 2008).
Sheep
Finger millet straw used as the base forage in sheep diets supplemented with concentrate (33%) maintained body weight (23-26 kg) for 150 days (Gowda et al., 2008). Dry matter intake of finger millet straw offered as sole forage without supplement was low (0.411 kg/d or 49.3 g/kg W0.75), as was DM digestibility (54.5%) (Chandrasekharaiah et al., 2010).
