Murugesrawi et al., 2006. Livest. Res. Rural Dev., 18 (3)

An experiment to assess the effect of processing of two varieties of tapioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) leaves viz. White Rose (H226) and Mulluvaadi (MVD-1) on chemical and HCN composition was conducted. The proximate principles of the leaves of both the varieties collected from six different fields were comparable to that of lucerne. The crude protein content of 20.2 and 20.7% in dry matter (DM) was recorded for White Rose (H226) and Mulluvaadi (MVD-1), respectively. It was also observed that the tapioca leaves had less structural carbohydrates than lucerne. The crude fibre and neutral detergent fibre content varied between varieties. The White Rose (H226) had significantly higher (P<0.05) crude fibre (20.6%) and neutral detergent fibre (48.3%) than Mulluvadi (MVD-1) containing 14.7% and 42.7% respectively. The mineral profile of leaves of both the varieties were well above the critical level. However, a wide Calcium:Phosphorus ratio 9.12:1 and 9.19:1 were observed in both White Rose (H226) and Mulluvaadi (MVD-1), respectively which is suggestive of the need to supplement a phosphorus source along with tapioca leaves. Tapioca leaves contained high level of HCN 1934 mg/kg DM (White Rose (H226) and 1143 mg/kg DM (Mulluvaadi (MVD-1)). Wilting for 24 hours reduced HCN level to 193 mg/kg DM for both the varieties with White Rose (H226) decreasing the HCN content more rapidly than Mulluvaadi (MVD-1) which is suggestive of shorter duration for wilting of White Rose (H226) over Mulluvaadi (MVD-1). Good hay and good silage could be prepared from tapioca leaves of both varieties. While HCN (mg/kg DM) content of White Rose (H226) silage (51.8) was significantly (P<0.01) lower than Mulluvaadi (MVD-1) silage (81.7), the hay made from Mulluvaadi (MVD-1) had significantly (P<0.01) lower (72.4) HCN content than White Rose (H226) hay (106.77) suggestive of White Rose (H226) suitability for ensiling and Mulluvaadi (MVD-1) suitability for hay making.