Does anyone know some nutritional properties of the tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum) as a ruminant feed?

What about alpha-tomatin ? Is it not toxic for cattle ?

There is a paper by Myriam Ventura with some analyses and in sacco degradation parameters:

Ventura, M. R. ; Pieltin, M. C. ; Castanon, J. I. R., 2009. Evaluation of tomato crop by-products as feed for goats. Anim. Feed Sci. Technol., 154 (3-4): 271-275

Dear Luis Alejandro Rodríguez Campos

Please find the attached file as follow below concerning on NUTRITIVE VALUE OF TOMATO POMACE USING IN VITRO GAS PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE 

Best regads :)

I seem to recall an issue with nitrates (?) and also that sheep eating "tomato hay' urinated excessively causing there to be issue with air quality (ammonia smell)  and bedding being wet

Dear Thomas. I don't know about alfa-tomatin. But I promise to research about it. If you can give me more information, I will thank you

Thanks to Denis and Ahkir, your literature recommendations are so useful.

Dear Doni, Do you have any documented experience about it? 

nothing documented just clinical impression from farmers that tried it

Great information from Reza. we never thought of feeding tomatoe plant for dairy cattle. we also need to do some research on it. Thanks Reza and Luis

I'm not a specialist about tomato chemical composition, my question was a matter of curiosity. It seems that alpha-tomatin is a toxic component we can find in green parts.

Moreover, I can testify that some people working long enough in greenhouse who can contract a form of skin and/or respiratory allergy. It's only a human concern but it can match with the hypothesis that these green parts contain one or more toxic products.

I read the Ventura paper and it seems tha goat suffer from intestinal disorder if they eat to much tomato fruit. Nothing about vegetative parts, only chemical data about theorical digestibility.

In the farms we saw, the staff reported some nutritional disorders (diarrhea) and some reject behaviour when the product is first used.

Dear Reza, these are the fotos that you want.  In this moment, I only have about the use of the plant in sheep.

At this moment I don't have any picture of the product itself.  The product has been grown on a greenhouse, I think, but i'm not sure at this moment. It is offered fresh, without any tratment.  In that farm, the tomato plant is used as alternative to cut-and-carry grass, and the animals receive variable quantities of both feeds. The product is really bad stored, beacause in the farm where we see the product, they put it outdoors.  Our objective is to identify what are the nutritional and antinutritional properties of this feedstuff, and how much tomato plant is convenient to use. I don't know yet the dairy facility using tomato plant, only a sheep farm.  Staff of the farm reports diarrhea, in sheeps consuming this plant during about a month, but, as they don't manage very well the product and don't know how much to provide, we are waiting to make any hypothesis.

You can solve this problem just going over the literature. It is toxic, unfortunately, even for ruminants.

Tomato by-products are usually fed to ruminants due to their high fibre content. They are not excellent feed ingredients, being less digestible than most major oil meal and protein sources. They can be bitter and should then be used together with more palatable feeds. However, they can be a valuable source of protein, energy and fibre and cost-effective (Göhl, 1982; Caluya et al., 2003). In the Phillipines, Caluya et al., 2003 recommend to include tomato pomace at up to 50 % of the daily roughage requirement irrespective of whether it is fresh, dry or ensiled. The pomace should be given before the roughage or mixed (particularly when dry) thoroughly with the chopped roughage.

Leovegildo, Do you have anypaper that confirms that?

Feeding animals with tomato by-products is therefore a valuable way to prevent ... Tomatine may have medicinal properties such as antibiotic, anticancer, ... Their physical form, chemical composition and subsquent nutritional value depend on the ... Tomato pomace ensiled with whole maize plant up to 12 % (DM basis) ..

Tomato pomace is the remaining residue after processing the tomato fruit, not the tomato plant itself.  As with other members of the nightshade family, I believe the tomato plants themselves contain compounds (solanine, et al.) that will be detrimental to ruminants, though I have no proof of such a claim.

Thank you Robert.  

Luis, please analyse and share the results.  What I have noticed with tomato palnts is that, the plant matures as rapidly as the fruits are being harvested.  By the time the plant has stopped producing fruits and the last set of fruits is ripe, the plant has lost most leaves and whatever leaves are left, they would be discolored and stems look really fbrous.  I am not sure about anti-nutritional substances,but i believe there should be some in the tomato palnt.  Please finish your analyses and we can take it from there.  It should be interesting!

Hello Mr Garipoglu (or Mr Vaiz, I don't Know, sorry!!!)

Values of 13,56 and 17,6 were reported in tomato leaves  by Osama et al (2013) and Ventura et al (2009), respectively.  Analyzing tems, Ventura et al (2009) reported 18,4%. In whole tomato plant (stems+leaves), Lofti (nd) indicated a value of 19% and Ventura et al (2009) 18.1%.

I think that values between 20-25% can be possible in certain agricultural conditions, dependind on the soil type, maturity of the plant, fertilization levels.  Also, if your samples are soil-contaminated, it can be expected higher ash levels.

Also, as a part of the silage process, you could use some additives that hightened your crude ash levels.

I hope this answer can be useful for you. If it isn't, please say it to me.

I attached the publications cited. I'm very sad, but I cannot give you any Costarican info, beacause I didn't received yet analysis results of my sample.