Abstract

Wafers (wafer-feed) are an effective processing technology and are expected to maintain the continuous availability of animal feed during the dry season. The purpose of this study was to determine the best type of adhesive on the physical quality of sugarcane tops and Tithonia based wafers. This study used the Split Split Plot Design (SSPD). The main plot as factor A was the type of adhesive, consisting of: Tapioca flour (A1), Pathi flour (A2), Gaplek flour (A3), Karagenan flour (A4), palm sugar (A5). The subplots as Factor B are temperature which consists of: 100oC (B1), 110oC (B2), and 120oC (B3), while the sub-plots as factor C are oven time consisting of: 10 minutes (C1), 15 minutes (C2), and 20 minutes (C3). The forage used was Sugarcane tops (Saccharum officinarum) and Tithonia (Tithonia diversifolia) in the ratio of 60:40. The best adhesive in making sugarcane tops and Tithonia based wafers is tapioca flour with a temperature of 120oC for 20 minutes, with physical properties such as colour, aroma, and excellent texture with a range (3.73, 3.70, and 3.63), density with a value of 5.68 g/cm3, and water binding capacity with a value of 104.22. From the research it can be concluded that there are interactions on the physical properties of wafers (colour, aroma, and smell), density and water binding capacity. For further research, the best wafers obtained were continued to the in vitro digestibility stage to see the digestibility of wafers as ruminant feed. © The Author(s) 2024