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Thirty-yearling Menz lambs with average initial body weight of 19.72 ± 1.96 kg (Mean ± SD) were used to evaluate the effects of supplementing mung bean haulms (MBH) and concentrate mixture (CM) on feed intake, body weight gain and carcass characteristics of lambs fed a basal diet of natural pasture hay. The lambs were assigned into five treatments in a randomized complete block design as follows: 226 CM (T1), 77 MBH + 192 CM (T2), 154 MBH + 156 CM (T3), 231 MBH + 120 CM (T4), 308 MBH + 87 CM (T5) grams on dry matter basis. Total dry matter (DM), organic matter and metabolizable energy intakes were increased (p 0.05) among treatments. Feed conversion efficiency for T2 was higher (p

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.

ABSTRACTThe 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

This study aimed to assess the effect of fertilizer rates on agro-morphological traits, nutrient uptake and use efficiency, and economic feasibility of fodder yield in oat. The study was carried out using a factorial arrangement of eight fertilizer rates (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, and 175 %) and three oat varieties (CI-8251, SRCPX80Ab2291, and Sorataf) in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results revealed that variety, fertilizer, and year had a significant effect on fodder yield. The fodder yield increased up to 175 % of the blanket recommended fertilizer and application of 100, 125, 150, and 175 % produced fodder yield of 14.0, 15.6, 15.8, and 15.9 t/ha, respectively. The fodder type oat (CI-8251) and dual type oat (SRCPX80Ab2291) variety had 15.4 and 10.6 % fodder yield advantages over grain type oat (Sorataf), respectively. Significantly higher fodder yield was obtained in 2021 than 2020 cropping season. Moreover, the interaction effect of variety by fertilizer by year was significant for nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, nitrogen and total nutrient uptake, partial factor productivity, internal utilization efficiency, agronomic efficiency, and agro-physiological efficiency. The Pearson correlation analysis indicated that the number of tillers per plant, yields of morphological fractions (leaf, stem, and panicle), forage yield production rate, nutrient concentration, and uptake had significant positive associations with fertilizer levels and fodder yield. In contrast, all nutrient use efficiency except agro-physiological efficiency had inverse associations with fertilizer levels and fodder yield. The combined partial budget analysis for the three oat varieties showed that the application of 125 % fertilizer produced a higher net benefit (83,440 ETB) and marginal rate of return (12,635.6 %). Therefore, the blanket recommended fertilizer rate of 125 % (51.3 kg N + 25 kg P/ha) could increase fodder yield and farm profitability in the study area.

Background: Natural pasture is an essential source of livestock feed worldwide, particularly in Ethiopia. Though pastureland coverage and management practices are changing over time, studies are limited in addressing the status under the dynamics of smallholder management conditions. Objective: To evaluate natural pasture botanical composition, biomass yield, and nutritional value under different management and stages of harvesting in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Methodology: The pasture was harvested at three stages (pre-flowering, mid-flowering, and after full flowering) under different management (extensive, semi-intensive where urea was used as a fertilizer, and seasonal grazing). Quadrats of 0.25 m2 were used for herbaceous species identification, biomass yield estimation and nutritive value analysis. Chemical composition of the samples were analyzed using Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy. Results: Thirty-one herbaceous species were identified (38.71% grasses, 19.35% legumes, 9.67% sedges, and 32.26% forbs), which belong to 11 families. The total biomass yield under semi-intensive management practice at full maturity stage was greater than seasonally grazed and extensively managed pasture. The species richness, species evenness Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’ max) and maximum possible diversity (H’max) were similar (P>0.05) under all management practices. Natural pasture condition score was fair under seasonal grazing, while the score was excellent under extensive and semi-intensive management. Metabolizable energy (ME), and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) were higher (P

Desho grass (Pennisetum glaucifolium Trin) an important fodder grass. However, information on its production is lacking. This study was carried out to evaluate the forage dry matter yield and nutritive value of Desho grass harvested at different cutting heights (CH), under rain-fed conditions in two different sites in central highlands of Ethiopia for two years. The treatments (T1-T8) were: 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, and 120 cm cutting heights, distributed in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The root splits of the grass were planted in a 3 m × 4 m (12 m2) plot size with 0.5 m × 0.25 m inter and intra-row spacing. In the two locations, over the years, significant differences were observed among cutting heights. The interaction of cutting heights by locations, and location by years were also significant. The interaction among cutting height, location, and year was insignificant. The highest (number of leaves per plant) NLPP was attained as the plant height advance, while the number of tillers per plant (NTPP) showed non-significant differene in different treatments. The dry matter yield (DMY) increased linearly with an increase in CH (ranging from 12.2 to 20.1 t ha−1 at Holetta, and 4.2 to 11.4 t ha−1at Kulumsa). The grass's ash and crude protein (CP) contents decreased as the cutting height increased. An increase in CH increased the fiber content Neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and Acid detergent lignin (ADL), resulting decrease in in-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD). We recommend that desho grass be managed at 80–90 cm height resulting in optimum dry matter yield and nutritive value for use in smallholder farmers and market-oriented livestock producers of the central highlands of Ethiopia and major growing areas.

Abstract Background The performance of oat genotypes differs across environments due to variations in biotic and abiotic factors. Thus, evaluation of oat genotypes across diverse environments is very important to identify superior and stable genotypes for yield improvement. Methods The study aimed to assess the interaction (genotype‐by‐environment interaction; GEI) effect and determine the stability of grain yield in oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes in Ethiopia using parametric and nonparametric stability statistics. Twenty‐four oat genotypes were evaluated in nine environments using a randomized complete block design replicated three times. Results The pooled analysis of the variance of grain yield showed significant variations among genotypes, environments, and their interaction effects. Significant GEI revealed the rank order change of genotypes across environments. The environment main effect captured 44.62% of the total grain yield variance, while genotype and GEI effects explained 28.84% and 26.54% of the total grain yield variance, respectively. The grain yield stability was assessed based on 12 parametric and two nonparametric stability statistics. The results indicated that genotypes with superior grain yield‐ showed stable performance on the basis of the stability parameters of the genotypic superiority index (Pi), the Perkins and Jinks adjusted linear regression coefficient (Bi), and the yield stability index (YSI), indicating that selection using these stability parameters would be efficient for grain yield enhancement in oat genotypes. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients also showed that the stability parameters of Pi, Bi, and YSI had a significant positive association with grain yield. However, grain yield had an inverse correlation with the stability parameters of standard deviation, deviation from regression ( S d i 2 ), the Hernandez desirability index (Dji), Wricke ecovalence (Wi), the Shukla stability variance (σi2), the AMMI stability value (ASV), and environmental variance ( S ( 2 ) i ), indicating that oat genotype selection using these stability parameters would not be efficient for yield enhancement because these stability parameters favor low‐yielding genotypes more, compared to high‐yielding ones. Conclusions Therefore, G5, G8, G11, G12, G14, G16, G17, G19, and G22 genotypes were adaptable in all nine environments based on stability parameters of Pi, Bi, and YSI, and selection of these superior genotypes would improve grain yield in oat genotypes. However, the validity of this result should be confirmed by repeating the experiment in the same environments over two or more years.

The experiment was designed to determine the effect of feeding densified complete feed block (DCFB) on the production performances of lactating F1 Friesian x Borena crossbred cows. Four mid-lactating multiparous cows with 2–5 parity having similar milk yield (8–10 l·day−1) were evaluated using 4 × 4 Latin square design for a total of 84 days. The treatments include natural pasture hay supplemented with a concentrate mixture at the rate of 0.5 kg·l−1 of milk yield·cow−1 (T1) and three different wheat straw-based DCFBs in the ratio of 50 : 50 (T2), 40 : 60 (T3), and 30 : 70 (T4). The result revealed that the average daily dry matter (DM) intake was similar among all dietary treatments except for T2 that had lower (P 0.05) but significantly higher (P 0.05) NDF and ADF digestibility compared to T1. The CP digestibility and daily average milk yield were higher (P 0.05) over all the treatments. Milk conversion efficiency was similar (P >0.05) among the DCFB but higher (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

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

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.

This study aimed to evaluate the genotype by environment interaction for agro-morphological traits and fodder nutritive values of oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes under diverse environmental conditions and to identify high fodder yielding and consistently performing genotypes in Ethiopia. Oat genotypes usually demonstrate inconsistent performance in different environments due to variations in growing environments and the existence of significant genotype by environment interaction complicates the selection process. Therefore, the genotype by environment interaction study was executed using the additive main effects and multiplicative interactions model to select superior and stable genotypes. The effects of genotype by environment interaction on fodder yield stability in twenty-four oat genotypes were investigated in nine environments using a randomized complete block design. The additive main effects and multiplicative interaction analysis of variance for fodder yield showed significant variation for genotype, environment, and genotype by environment interaction effects and the highest contributor for the total variation was the environment (67.45 %) main effect followed by genotype by environment interaction (22.73 %) and the genotype (9.82 %). The first (44.11 %) and the second (26.79 %) interaction principal component axes were significant and cumulatively accounted for 70.91 % of the total interaction variance. Based on the first two additive main effects and multiplicative interaction analyses, E6, E4, and E2 were located far from the biplot origin and had a high contribution to the total variation of genotype by environment interaction. The fodder yield of the genotypes G6, G10, G23, G7, G9, G18, G13, G1, G24, G15, G2, G3, G19, G4, and G11 were above the grand mean. The fodder yield stability result obtained from the second additive main effects and multiplicative interaction is usually more accurate compared to the first additive main effects and multiplicative interaction. Consequently, genotypes which had mean fodder yield above the grand mean and relatively stable performance were observed for G23, G6, G10, G7, G11, G1, G9, G15, G2, G3, G4, and G19. However, G2, G3, G4, G11, and G19 have released varieties while the remaining genotypes have not been yet released. Therefore, G6, G10, G23, G7, and G9 were selected for verification and cultivation of these selected genotypes would contribute more for oat fodder yield improvement programs in Ethiopia.

The study aimed to estimate the extent of genetic variability, heritability, and expected genetic gain attributable to agro-morphological traits and to suggest an effective selection scheme and specify promising genotypes for future oat breeding programs. One hundred twenty oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes were evaluated at two locations in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The analysis of variance indicated that the mean squares due to locations and genotype x location interaction varied significantly for some measured traits while that of genotypes varied significantly (P ≤ 0.001) among all studied traits. Moreover, the estimates of genetic variability, heritability, and expected genetic advance indicate the presence of remarkable genetic diversity in oat genotypes and the magnitude of selection response for these traits in the population to develop superior genotypes for oat improvement. The result revealed that very high to moderately high heritability in a broad sense (h2b) coupled with high to moderate genetic advance as percent of mean (GAM) were recorded for forage dry matter yield (h2b = 64.4%; GAM = 19.3%), number of leaves at forage harvest (h2b = 86.4%; GAM = 19.9%), stem dry matter yield (h2b = 62.9%; GAM = 18.3%), forage yield production rate (h2b = 69.7%; GAM = 21.7%), grain yield (h2b = 64.2%; GAM = 26.1%), panicle length at grain harvest (h2b = 80.9%; GAM = 21.9%), number of spikes per panicle (h2b = 68.8%; GAM = 16.0%), and harvest index (h2b = 80.9%; GAM = 26.0%). The results suggested that these traits are governed more by additive gene action, and selection based on these traits could be effective to achieve the desired genetic gains for improvement. Therefore, high forage dry matter and grain yielding genotypes along with these desirable yield-related traits could be considered for selection in oat genotypes.

Abstract A total of 24 oat genotypes were evaluated across 9 environments using a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The combined analysis of variance indicated that grain yield was significantly affected by genotype, environment, and genotype by environment interaction (GEI). The environment's main effect explained 44.62% of the total variation, whereas the genotype and GEI captured 28.84% and 26.54%, respectively. The genotype plus genotype by environment (GGE) biplot of the first two principal components also explained (PC1 = 68.46%) and (PC2 = 11.84%) of the GEI sum of squares. G8 (SRCPX80Ab2267), G17 (SRCPX80Ab2310), G5 (Sorataf), G14 (Was), G19 (Bonsa), G22 (SRCPX80Ab2691), G12 (SRCPX80Ab2291), G11 (SRCPX80Ab2806), G4 (CI‐8251), and G16 (Jassari), which were located at the left side of the PC1, showed better grain yield performance. The smaller PC1 values were observed for G19, G14, G8, G11, G12, G17, and G22 showing better grain yield stability. The ideal genotype located at the center of the concentric circles was G19, whereas the desirable genotypes were G14, G8, G11, G12, G17, and G22. The polygon view of the GGE biplot showed that the first mega‐environment contains environment E3 (Ginchi) with G16, whereas the second mega‐environment contains environments E7 (Bekoji) and E8 (Kuyu) with G12 being the winning genotypes. The vertices of the fourth mega‐environments (E6—Kulumsa) were G8 and G17, whereas the remaining environments grouped in the third mega‐environment without vertex genotype. Furthermore, E2 (Ada‐Berga) was an ideal test environment, whereas E5 (D/Zeit), E1 (Holetta), and E4 (Jeldu) were identified as favorable environments. Regarding the mean grain yield and stability, G19, G14, G8, G11, G12, G17, and G22 were the best genotypes that can be considered adapted genotypes to wider environments.

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 study was carried out to evaluate 10 perennial forage grass accessions from 4 species for herbage dry matter yield and nutritional quality at Holetta Agricultural Research Center. The evaluated grasses species and varieties were one Desho grass (Pennisetum) variety Kulumsa, four Urochloa decumbens (ILRI-14721, ILRI-14720, ILRI-13205 and ILRI-10871), three Urochloa ruziziensis (ILRI-14813, ILRI-14774 and ILRI-13332) and two Setaria sphacelata (ILRI-143 and ILRI-6543) accessions. Plant height and forage dry matter yield were significantly affected by accession over years, during the establishment and production phases. Combined analysis indicated that the tested accessions varied significantly for plant height with the Setaria accessions taller than the other tested species. Combined data analysis revealed that forage dry matter yield significantly varied according to species and Desho grass (variety Kulumsa) was higher in dry matter yield than the other grasses tested. Fiber contents (NDF, ADF and ADL) were significantly influenced by accession. Crude protein yield differed among the accessions and Desho grass had higher crude protein, followed by U. decumbens (accession ILRI-13205), U. decumbens (accession ILRI-14721) and S. sphacelata (accession ILRI-6543). Based on dry matter yield and crude protein U. decumbens (accession ILRI-13205), U. ruziziensis (accession ILRI-13332), S. sphacelata (accession 6543) and Desho grass (var. Kulumsa) are recommended as alternative forage grasses for the study area and similar agro-ecologies.

Storage duration and seed treatments before storage are important factors responsible for retaining seed longevity. Hence, germination of tagasaste seed in the laboratory or nursery has been difficult and problematic without seed treatment, and yet, there is no information about the tagasaste seed longevity after treatment. Thus, this research was carried out to investigate the longevity of tagasaste seed after seed treatment for optimum germination percentage. The tagasaste seed was collected from the field of Holetta Agricultural Research Centre and treated monthly from March 2016 through February 2017. The germination test for the treated seed was done in the month of March for three consecutive years (2017, 2018, and 2019). The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The data were analyzed using the SAS software, and the least significant difference was employed for mean separation. The germination percentage was not significantly P>0.05 different within the months of the first, second, and third years of storage durations. While, the germination percentage of the seed stored after treatment for one, two, and three years was nonsignificant P>0.05. Therefore, the treated seed of tagasaste can be stored under the ambient conditions of a tropical highland environment for about three years without significant loss in germination percentage. However, the study should be conducted for more years to know the effect of storage duration on seed viability of tagasaste after seed treatment.

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is among the most common and inexpensive herbicides used to control broadleaf weeds in natural pasture. However, different studies have pointed out the risk of forage injury. Consequently, no research data on the productivity and nutritive value of natural pasture in response to different rates and times of 2,4-D application exists in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate natural pasture yield and nutritive response to 2,4-D application at different rates (1, 1.5, and 2 L·ha−1) and time (mid-July, early, and mid-August) with control. The experiment was designed as a factorial randomized complete block design with three replicates for two years. Grasses and legume proportions in the pasture were significantly influenced by the rate and time (P0.05) effect on forage portions (grasses + legumes) and grasses. Crude protein and in vitro dry matter digestible yield of pasture forage portions were not significantly (P>0.05) influenced by the rate and time of 2, 4-D application and their interaction. Weed dry matter yield was significantly affected by the interaction of rate and time of 2, 4-D application and mid-July application at 1.5 and 2 L·ha−1 gave the lowest yield. Therefore, to produce optimum quality and quantity of forage from natural pasture, the application of 2, 4-D in mid-July at 1.5 L·ha−1 is recommended.

There is a distinct seasonality in the availability of feeds in the highlands of Ethiopia, reaching a peak and low levels towards the end of the rainy and dry season, respectively. Consequently, this trial was conducted to assess the yield performance and nutritive value of nine perennial grasses accessions from seven grass species under supplementary irrigation to produce feed year-round. The evaluated grasses species were two Urochloa (U. decumbens cv. ILRI-10871 and ILRI-13205), two Setaria (S. sphacelata cv. ILRI-143 and ILRI-6543), one Phalaris (Phalaris aquatica cv. Sirrosa), coloured Guinea (Panicum coloratum cv. Coloratum), Desho (Pennisetum glaucifolium cv. Kindu kosha), Napier (Pennisetum purpureum cv, ILRI-16791), and Rhodes (Chloris gayana cv. Massaba) variety. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design. The chemical compositions of the grasses were scanned by, the near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Results indicated that the plant height, dry matter, and crude protein yield were significantly affected by year, species (P

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