Cottonseed by-products arevery high in nutrients and theirchemical composition varieshighly according to the varietiesof cotton and the various treatmentsaiming at extracting oil.Their use in animal nutrition, andparticularly in broilers, is especiallylimited by the free gossypolwhich can damage varioustissues and also decreases theperformances of growth and dietefficiency. The incorporation ofcottonseed meal in broilers dietmay be increased following chemicalbinding of free gossypol,but these methods have drawbacks.Ferrous sulfate denaturesfeed and the use of lysine to bindgossypol is limited by the expensivenessof this product while thebiological fermentation is verycomplex and inapplicable, as tonow, on a large way. Glandlessvarieties could be incorporatedat a very high level in diets andtherefore could contribute todecrease the protein feed requirements.Unfortunately, agronomicconstraints associated to thesecrops have limited the research inthis way. The production of varietiesin which gossypol secretionwould be inhibited before theseed germination should alleviatethe limitations associated to cottonby-products.

l’Amélioration de la rentabilité financière de la filière de coton au Sénégal