Pineapple is a commercial horticultural crop grown in many parts of Uganda. The fruit is processed for juice, jam and canned products for human consumption.
Pineapple leaf waste is a by-product generated after pruning at farm sites. Out of the whole fruit, only about 30% is edible and the remaining 70% (crown with leaves, peels and pulp) is non-edible for human consumption.
Dairy cows
Dairy cows fed on pineapple fruit residue silage-based Total Mixed Ration replacing conventional Napier green fodder for 90 days showed an improvement of daily milk yield by about 20%.
No evidence of metabolic or health-related disorders were noticed, indicating that pineapple fruit residue silage was effectively utilised by the livestock.
Goats
Scarcity of feed in the dry season for goats can be overcome by pineapple pulp silage, which is a good source of feed for goats. Pineapple silage can also be made from a mixture of pineapple pulp, young lima beans (phaseolus lunatus), and fresh Napier grass (pennisetum purpureum).
This pineapple waste silage can increase feed protein content, digestibility, absorption and retention of nitrogen, as well as prevent weight loss in goats.
Pineapple fruit residue silage technology has a potential for adoption in Uganda, where pineapple fruit is cultivated and processed.
Pineapple fruit residue is also available in urban and peri-urban markets, where they create a disposal problem as they are dumped within the markets, causing an environmental hazard.
Nutritive value of pineapple fruit waste for pigs
Pineapple bran can be used as a feed for fattening pigs. Fifty percent pineapple bran-mixture inclusion in fattening pig diet results in an average daily gain of 0.4kg during a period averaging 81 days.
Sheep
Feeding pineapple fruit residue silage-based Total Mixed Ration to sheep for 75 days did not show any adverse effects and supported a daily growth rate of 140g.
The overall performance was similar to maize green fodder silage-based Total Mixed Ration fed sheep (control).
