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This paper looked at practical ways in which pasture and range management (P&RM) can benefit from application of spatial technologies; namely Satellite Remote Sensing, Global Positioning System and Geographical Information Science. Brief mention of these spatial technologies’ components and ways of their integrations (linear, interactive, hierarchical and complex models) were discussed with specific reference to P&RM. The paper also dwells on salient principles of applied remote sensing and geospatial technics in P&RM using examples and case studies revolving around rangeland management, spatial decision support and resource conservation. Specifically, the relevance of hyper spectral imageries and vegetation indices in cattle population and range roaming determination, grazing land and paddock site-specific management were demonstrated. It is hoped that the review will create awareness for the inclusion and use of remote sensing and geospatial technics in many areas of livestock management in Nigeria.

Mixed pastures of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana cv. Callide) and Stylo (Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Cook) were evaluated at fi.ve slacking rate, 12, 18, 2 4, 3 0 and 36 rams/ha over five grazing periods at Shika, Nigeria. The pastures were continuously grazed for 154 to 210 days beginning from late rainy into dry season (August to April). Dry matter yields of stem, leaf stem + leaf of C gayana, green material and total herbage declined (P

The effects of swine manure application and row spacing on dry matter yields of Cenchrus americanus (pearl millet) at 6 weeks after sowing and chemical composition, fermentative characteristics and in vitro gas production of silage produced from the forage were studied. The design was a 2 × 2 factorial with 2 row spacings (0.5 and1.0 m) and 2 levels of manure application [no manure (Control) and swine manure at 5 t/ha (22% DM; 0.34% N on DM basis)] replicated 3 times. Swine manure application had no effect (P>0.05) on dry matter yield but a row spacing of0.5 m produced higher (P

The availability of high quality forage, especially during the dry season remains a major challenge to ruminant livestock production in Nigeria and many parts of West Africa. This study was conducted to evaluate forage yield and nutritive quality of haulm from selected dual purpose cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) cultivars in the humid rain forest zone of Nigeria. The forage and pod yields of twenty cultivars were evaluated at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. Subsequently, five dual-purpose cultivars, namely IT04K-334-2, IT07K-293-3, IT04K-194-3, IT04K-405-5, IT06K-147-2, were selected based on forage and pod yields from previous trial, for determination of chemical and fibre compositions. The results revealed significant (P700 t ha-1). There were significant (P

Resumen en: A study was carried out over a period of two years to evaluate the ability of 12 grass-legume mixtures to compete with weeds over a 12-week period follow...

Sixteen West African dwarf goats weighing 5.0–5.6 kg were used in an experiment that lasted 112 days to investigate the utilization of citrus pulp based diets and E. cyclocarpum . A control diet which contained 88.5% dried brewers' grains (DBG) and other three experimental diets in which DBG was replaced with dried citrus pulp (DCP) at 25, 50 and 75% levels, respectively constituted the four treatments. The goats were divided into four groups of four animals each to balance for variation in live weight before they were assigned to the four different experimental diets. Significant differences ( P P P P P IU/L ) at 75% level of citrus pulp. Therefore, the efficient utilization of citrus pulp and E. cyclocarpum by WAD goats was attained at the 50% level of inclusion in the diets.

Sun-dried cassava peels were used as an energy source to replace maize offals in diets for pregnant Red Sokoto goats. The rations contained 0, 18.5, 37.0, 55.5 and 74.0% sun-dried cassava peels. An additional diet contained only cotton seed cake and common salt while the other rations also contained 25.0% cotton seed cake, 1.0% common salt and varied quantities of maize offals. Each of the six treatments comprised five Red Sokoto goats in early pregnancy supplemented with the appropriate corresponding ration at the rate of 1.5% of the liveweight. After supplementation for 2h in the morning, they were allowed to graze on native pastures in a specified paddock. The mean dry matter intake of the cassava peel-based rations was significantly (P < 0.01) affected by the level of cassava peel. This decreased linearly from 30.9 g per W0.75kg per day in treatment 2 to 26.2 g per W0.75kg per day in treatment 5. The CP intake significantly (P 0.05) difference in the efficiency of feed conversion but the efficiency of CP utilization was significantly (P < 0.01) higher in the cassava peel-based rations than the cottonseed based ration. There was no significant (P > 0.05) difference in the liveweight gains of the goats during the first trimester of pregnancy even though the average daily gain ranged from 143 to 171 g per day. There were no abortions or mortalities during the period of pregnancy examined. The use of cassava peels, up to 74.0% in supplement rations, which completely replaced maize offals did not affect liveweight changes in pregnant goats grazed on native pasture.