Dehydrated Sweet Potatoes—their Feeding Value and Digestibility

Abstract

Dehydrated sweet potatoes made from whole tubers were palatable, while a poor quality product made from culled, bruised, and sectioned potatoes was slightly unpalatable. Feeding trials have shown that dehydrated sweet potatoes have approximately 88 per cent the value of yellow corn meal, and are approximately 17 per cent more valuable than ground snapped corn, including cob and shuck, for milk production. Digestion trials have shown that good quality dehydrated sweet potatoes contained from 76 to 81 per cent T.D.N., while a poor quality product contained 71 per cent T.D.N. on the dry basis. Dehydrated sweet potatoes are of value in the dairy ration, not only because of the high digestibility of their carbohydrate, but also because of their high carotene content, which increases the vitamin A value of the butterfat. © 1947, American Dairy Science Association. All rights reserved.