CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrated that ensiled TMF formulated from cassava-derived agro-industrial byproducts can successfully replace guinea grass as a roughage source in early-lactating dairy cows without adversely affecting body weight, nutrient digestibility, rumen stability, or milk composition. Cows fed the TMFe diet exhibited significantly greater DMI, nutrient intake, and ME intake than those fed guinea grass or TMFc, whereas apparent digestibility of DM, OM, CP, NDF, and ADF remained unchanged among treatments. The TMFc diet enhanced ruminal nitrogen metabolism, as evidenced by higher NH₃–N and BUN concentrations, and showed a tendency toward greater milk yield, although this response did not reach statistical significance. Despite differences in ruminal fermentation characteristics, ruminal pH remained within the physiological range and milk composition was maintained across all treatments, indicating that both cassava-derived roughage sources supported normal rumen function and lactational performance.

These findings demonstrate the practical potential of ensiled TMFc and TMFe as sustainable alternative roughage resources for dairy production in tropical regions. The utilization of cassava pulp and cassava bioethanol waste not only provides nutritionally suitable feed ingredients but also promotes the valorization of agro-industrial residues, thereby contributing to circular bioeconomy strategies, reducing waste disposal, and decreasing reliance on conventional forage resources that are often limited in availability and quality.

A major strength of this study is that it provides the first direct comparison of ensiled TMFc and ensiled TMFe as primary roughage sources in early-lactating dairy cows, thereby extending current knowledge beyond previous studies that primarily evaluated cassava-derived byproducts as concentrate ingredients or feed supplements. However, the absence of detailed silage fermentation characteristics, peNDF determination, microbial protein synthesis, rumen microbial analyses, metabolic profiling, safety evaluation of residual HCN, economic assessment, and environmental measurements limits a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying the observed responses.

Overall, ensiled TMF prepared from cassava pulp or cassava bioethanol waste represents a promising, nutritionally effective, and environmentally sustainable alternative roughage source for early-lactating dairy cows. Among the two formulations evaluated, TMFe was more effective in enhancing feed and energy intake, whereas TMFc promoted greater ruminal nitrogen availability and showed a tendency toward higher milk yield, highlighting the complementary nutritional characteristics of these two cassava-derived agro-industrial byproducts for tropical dairy production systems.