Effects of <i>Prosopis juliflora</i> pods on sheep performance and carcass traits, and their methane mitigation potential as assessed <i>in vitro</i>

This study aimed to assess the effect of partial substitution of concentrate mix (CM) with Prosopis juliflora pod (PJP) on growth performance and carcass traits in sheep, and its potential to reduce methane (CH4) production in vitro. A total of 25 yearling rams with an initial body weight of 15.8±1.53 kg was randomly assigned to five treatment diets. The diets were a control diet (JP0) and JP0 replaced with PJP at the level of 5% (JP5), 10% (JP10), 15% (JP15), and 20% (JP20). Data were collected on feed intake, body weight, and carcass characteristics. Methane production was determined from 24 h in vitro gas production. The substitution of CM with PJP did not affect feed intake, body weight, weight gain, feed efficiency, and carcass traits (p>0.05). The in vitro CH4 production was reduced (p<0.001) in diets containing increased levels of PJP. The metabolizable energy for JP10, JP15 and JP20 diets was 11.9, 11.6 and 11.5 MJ/kg DM, respectively (p>0.05). In conclusion, replacing CM with PJP did not negatively affect growth performance and carcass characteristics and could be used as potential supplement to mitigate methane emissions. Further in vivo studies involving respiration chambers are recommended to investigate the CH4 reduction potential of PJP.