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Improved forage grasses with high quality and biomass are a crucial additional feed source for cereal-livestock farming in Ethiopia. This study compared the performance of 4 Urochloa species [U. brizantha (DZF-13379), U. humidicola (DZF-9222), U. decumbens ‘Basilisk’ (DZF-10871) and U. mutica (DZF-483)] with other 2 commonly used grasses, Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana ‘Massaba’) and Desho grass (Pennisetum glaucifolium local variety Kindu kosha), over 3 years during the main rainy season in Bishoftu in a sub-humid area of Ethiopia. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized block design. There was significant variation among species for agronomic parameters. The species × year interaction was significant for dry matter yield, plant height, and plot cover but not significant for leaf-to-stem ratio. Nutritional value [ash, acid detergent fiber (ADF), crude protein (CP) and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD)] was significantly different among species with no differences for neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL). All species showed potential as alternative ruminant feeds with U. mutica and U. brizantha the highest yielding in the sub-humid environment.

The effects of various treatment options on the nutritional value of wheat straw as well as the growth performance of crossbred calves fed the treated wheat straw were evaluated. Twenty-four female calves (75% Friesian-Borana), weighing 99.3 ± 19.7 kg (aged 6–9 months), were divided into four groups of six animals using a randomized complete block design. The feeding trial lasted approximately 104 days. The dietary treatments were: untreated wheat straw (control T1), wheat straw treated with urea-molasses (T2), urea-lime (T3), and effective microorganisms (T4). Results showed that the treatment options affected the physical silage quality and chemical composition of wheat straw. Calves in the T3 and T4 groups had a higher daily DM intake (3.7 and 3.5 kg/head, respectively) than those in T2 (3.1 kg/head) and T1 (3.02 kg/head) groups. Calves in the T3 (422.7 g/d) and T4 (391 g/d) groups gained greater weight than those in the T2 (281.7 g/d) and T1 (204.4 g/d) groups (P

IntroductionMaralfalfa grass (Pennisetum spp.) is known for its high dry matter productivity and nutritive value. However, information on agronomic management practices to improve yield and nutritive value in Ethiopia is sparse.Materials and methodThe experiment consisted of 7 plant densities (33,333 [75 cm × 40 cm]; 26,667[75 cm × 50 cm]; 25,000 [100 cm × 40 cm]; 22,222 [75 cm × 60 cm]; 20,000 [100 cm × 50 cm]; 16,667 [100 cm × 60 cm]; and 13,333 [125 cm × 60 cm] plants per hectare, and arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications.ResultsThe results indicated that the year had a significant (P0.05) effect on the number of nodes and leaves per plant, leaf length, and basal diameters. The number of tillers per plant varied significantly among plant densities only in the first year at the 1st harvest. Plant height in the first year was significantly (P 0.05) influenced by plant density. Using a lower plant density could reduce the amount of planting material, transport, and labor costs.ConclusionHowever, further studies on Maralfalfa grass should be conducted in multi-locations of Ethiopia both under rain-fed and irrigated conditions with various agronomic practices.

The study was conducted to evaluate the yield performance of improved forage and food crops and to estimate the profitability of fodder and food crops in Holetta and Ejere areas, central highlands of Ethiopia during 2019 and 2020 cropping seasons. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications and evaluated two annual forage crops, two perennial forage crops, and two cereal food crops. Data on herbage dry matter (DM) yield was collected for forage crops while straw and grain yields were measured for food crops. Partial budget analysis was made to evaluate the economic feasibility of forage and food crops production. The result revealed that the herbage DM yield varied (P

The introduction of improved forage varieties could play a crucial role in meeting the growing demand for livestock and livestock products in Ethiopia. However, different cultivars exhibit varied performance. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the performance of Brachiaria cultivars and other grass cultivars in two subhumid agroecological areas of Ethiopia. Four Brachiaria cultivars (B. brizantha (DZF-13379), B. humidicola (DZF-9222), B. decumbens (DZF-10871), and B. mutica (var. DZF-483), and two local grass cultivars, Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana var. Massaba) and Desho grass (Pennisetum glaucifolium var. Kindu Kosha), were evaluated in Bako and Bishoftu for three years during the rainy season. The experiment was carried out using a completely randomized block design. Results indicated that both cultivars and years had significant (P

Dairy cattle production is an integral part of smallholder farming systems in the central highlands of Ethiopia, but it is characterized by low milk productivity mainly due to nutritional constraints. This study assessed the comparative advantage of using improved forage-based feeding system over the traditional feeding practices on feed intake, milk yield and quality, and cost benefit analysis of crossbred dairy cows under smallholder farmers. The study was conducted at Welmera and Ejere districts on 12 farmers and two cows per farmer, and two dietary treatments were assigned to each cow randomly, and the study lasted 8 weeks. The treatments were: 1) intervention diet composed of oats-vetch mixture hay with concentrate supplementation at the rate of 0.5 kg/l of milk and 2) basal diet following farmers’ current feeding practices: crop residues and native hay, commonly soaked with local brewery residue (“Atela”) and water. The results showed that there was no difference in total dry matter intake between the two diets. However, the basal feed intake was higher in the traditional feeding practice by 11% whereas the concentrate intake was higher in the intervention diet by 25%. Crude protein intake was significantly higher (P

A 90-day experimental trial was conducted to investigate the growth performance and carcass parameters of goats supplemented with dry pigeon pea (PP) and neem leaves (NL). Thirty six yearling intact male Gumuz goats with initial mean body weight of 14.1 ± 1.5 kg (means ± SD) were allotted through a randomized complete block design to 6 treatments and 6 replicates. The supplement was given at 300 g DM/(animal·d). The experimental treatments were 300 g concentrate mix (CM), 300 g PP, 75 g NL + 225 g PP, 150 g NL + 150 g PP, 225 g NLM and 75 g PP and 300 g NL supplement. Total DM intake and basal feed DM intake were not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by supplementary diets. Intake of supplement and apparent DM digestibility were higher (P < 0.05) in goats supplemented with 300 g NL. Average daily gain, final body weight and feed conversion efficiency were not different (P > 0.05) among treatments. Dressing percentage on the basis of slaughter weight and empty body weight was higher (P < 0.05) in goats supplemented with 300 g NL than other treatments, but not differ with goats supplemented with 300 g CM. In conclusion, supplementation of sole NL instead of concentrate mix and PP resulted in similar performance of goats, and all supplements used in this study induced favorable average daily gain and thus can be employed in feeding systems depending on their availability and relative cost. Keywords: Concentrate mix, Digestibility, Neem, Benishangul-gumuz, Gumuz goats

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important perennial forage legume recommended for livestock feed due to its better yield and nutritional quality. So the introduced supersonic alfalfa variety was evaluated with the standard check variety (alfalfa-1086) at Holetta, Debre-Zeit, Kulumsa, Wondo-Genet, Werer, and Pawe locations aimed to assess forage biomass yield, chemical composition, and tolerance to major pests and diseases during the main cropping season of 2018 under supplementary irrigation. The result indicated that the introduced supersonic alfalfa variety gave a higher (P