Latin square trial reveals pine biochar reduces intake trends without altering digestibility in beef steers, suggesting high doses may limit voluntary feed consumption.
Key Points
To evaluate diet intake and nutrient digestibility in forage-fed beef steers supplemented with escalating concentrations of pinewood biochar.
Assigned 4 ruminally cannulated beef steers to a 4 × 4 Latin square design across four 14-d periods consisting of 8-d adaptation, 5-d intake and fecal sampling, and 1-d rumen fluid collection.
Provided ad libitum hay and water supplemented with cottonseed meal and one of four treatments: 0% biochar (control), or pinewood biochar at 0.8%, 1.6%, or 2.4% of the previous 3-d forage intake.
Forage organic matter intake showed a linear decreasing trend (P = 0.08), averaging 5.23 kg/d in controls, 4.96 kg/d at 0.8% biochar, 4.52 kg/d at 1.6% biochar, and 4.54 kg/d at 2.4% biochar.
Total digestible organic matter intake exhibited a linear downward trend (P = 0.08), falling from 4.29 kg/d in controls to 3.53 kg/d in the 2.4% biochar group.
Digestibility parameters showed no linear (P ≥ 0.11) or quadratic effects (P ≥ 0.31) from biochar supplementation, with organic matter digestibility averaging 64.6% across treatments.