Search

Copyright of Tropical Grasslands / Forrajes Tropicales is the property of International Centre for Tropical Agriculture - CIAT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this study was to select and evaluate promising potential indigenous fodder trees and shrubs (IFTS) as supplemental feeds for ruminant animals. Through interviews with farmers and field inventories, 107 IFTS species were identified as ruminant feeds, from which 37 potential IFTS species were selected. The chemical composition and anti-nutritional factors of the selected IFTS were analysed. Among the 37 selected IFTS species, crude protein (CP) ranged from 83.3 to 230.5 (mean, 134.3) g kg−1 dry matter (DM); CP was greater than 80 g kg−1 DM in all selected species. Condensed tannin (CT) content varied from 2.57 to 210.91 g kg−1 (p < 0.05) among the selected species, of which 72% had < 40 g kg−1 DM, an amount that is tolerable for ruminants. Farmers' preferences and the nutritive value of the selected fodder species were positively correlated (p < 0.05) for CP (0.61), organic matter digestibility (0.303) and metabolisable energy (0.25). Farmers' preference ranking and the nutritive value of the plants were considered to select the top 14 IFTS, all of which had CP > 110 g kg−1, neutral detergent fibre (NDF) < 350 g kg−1, and CT < 40 g kg−1. Thus, the selected potential IFTS need further evaluation for their agronomic practice, biomass production and animal performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ethiopia, the dairy cows' major feed resources are natural pasture and crop residues, both of which are nutritionally low and do not even satisfy the maintenance requirement. Consequently, dairy productivity per head is low in the country. This paper reviews the existing knowledge of negative energy balance (NEB) and summarizes its implication on production and reproduction parameters, as well as the monitoring tools as a means of intervention in minimizing the effect on dairy cows. The presence of NEB in late gestation and early lactation of dairy cows could contribute to both short and long-term negative effects on production and reproduction ability. Lower body condition, reduced milk production, a change in the milk fat to protein ratio, an increasing incidence of health problems, a late time to become estrus, delayed ovarian cycle, and a lower conception rate are the common implications. Through the knowledge created so far, it can be concluded that NEB is almost a common phenomenon in transitional high milking dairy animals, but there is a possibility to shorten its persistence through strategic supplementation using the NEB monitoring tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was conducted to determine the effects of fertilizer types on plant characteristics, forage yield, seed yield and chemical composition of Rhodes grass at Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The experiment was laid in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The treatments were: no fertilizer (T1), Bio-slurry compost (T2), NPS fertilizer (T3) and mixture of bio-slurry and NPS (T4) with four replications. Data collected were morphological characteristics such as plant height (PH), number of tillers per plant (NTPP), leaf length per plant (LLPP), leaf to stem ratio (LSR), number of leaves per plant (NLPP), forage dry matter yield and forage qualities harvested at 90 days (50% of blooming stage) except seed yield at three weeks after full flowering stage. Samples of forages were weighed, dried and then ground subsamples taken for analyses of crude protein (CP), ash, dry matter (DM), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL). All data were subjected to two way ANOVA procedures of SAS version 9.0. The results showed that the effects of organic and inorganic fertilizer had a significant (p<0.01) effect on all of morphological characteristics were better result with mixing of NPS and bioslurry fertilizer application than other treatments, but a lone of bioslurry and NPS fertilizers also almost similar result but less than in some extent from combined fertilizer treatment. Combining chemical fertilizers with bioslurry gave the highest DM yield (12.63 t/ha) of forage than sole bioslurry (11.8 t/ha) and sole chemical fertilizer (12.03 t/ha). Combined chemical fertilizers with bioslurry gave the highest CP contents (11.25%) of forage than other treatments. In contrast control plot obtained lowest result in all morphological parameters. DMY, seed yield and lowest nutritive value with higher fiber contents. Therefore, the application of combination of bio-slurry and inorganic fertilizer shown the best result in terms of morphological, nutritive value, forage dry matter and seed yield followed by either of fertilizers. Hence, based on the current result, it can be concluded that use of combination of organic and inorganic fertilizer is the best fertilizer as far as Rhodes grass production is concerned in the current study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tropical Grasslands / Forrajes Tropicales is the property of International Centre for Tropical Agriculture - CIAT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of tree lucerne dried leaves (TLDL) as a substituting supplement for noug seed cake, and wheat bran concentrate mixtures (CM) on feed intake, digestibility, growth, carcass characteristics and economic benefits using Washera sheep fed desho grass hay as a basal diet. Methods: Twenty‐five male Washera sheep with an initial body weight of 16 ± 4.01 kg (mean ± SD) were used for both growth and digestibility trials which lasted for 90 and 10 days, respectively The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design having five blocks with five treatments (T1 = 0% TLDL + 100% CM; T2 = 25% TLDL + 75% CM; T3 = 50% TLDL + 50% CM; T4 = 75% TLDL + 25% CM and T5 = 100% TLDL + 0% CM). Results: Significant (p <.05) differences were observed among treatments in total dry matter (DM), nutrients and metabolizable energy (ME) intake; as the level of TLDL increases total DM and nutrient intake decreased (p <.05) except neutral detergent fibre intake (NDFI) and acid detergent fibre intake (ADFI). Digestibility of DM, organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) were significantly reduced (p <.001) among the treatments increasing the substitution level of TLDL for local concentrate mixture, but non‐significant for fibre fractions digestibility. Similarly, body weight, average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency were significantly different (p <.01) and highest in T1 than other treatments, whereas lowest values of the same parameters were observed for T5. Non‐significant difference among treatments was observed in almost all of the carcass characteristics except for rib‐eye area that showed significant difference among treatment and was highest in T1 and T2 (low level of TLDL inclusion). The economic analysis showed that supplementation TLDL was economically feasible in which the net return of the treatments were 31.66 (T1), 30.68 (T2) and 30.34 (T3), 27.88 (T4) and 26.32 (T5) USD (United States Dollar). Conclusions: It was concluded that TLDL could be used as alternative feed source by replacing concentrate mixture up to 75% (T4) which enhanced nutrient intake, digestibility and growth performance of Washera sheep. Finally, TLDL supplementation is recommended as replacement of CM up to 75% for its biological and economic feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the supplementary effect of Faba bean hull (FBH), noug seed cake (NSC), wheat bran (WB) and their mixtures on biological performance and economic benefits of s in Farta sheep fed grass hay as basal diet. The treatments were grass hay (GH) ad libitum+200g NSC+100 g WB (T1); GH ad libitum +200g NSC+75 g WB+25g FBH (T2); GH ad libitum+200g NSC+50g WB+50g FBH (T3); GH ad libitum+200g NSC+25 g WB+75g FBH (T4) and GH ad libitum+200g NSC+100g FBH (T5). The feeding and digestibility trials were conducted for ninety and seven days, respectively. Data on composition of feeds and feces, dry matter (DM) and nutrient intake, DM and nutrients digestibility, BW changes and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) were collected. The basal DM intakes were 393.32, 393.85, 394.95, 396.04 and 396.98 g/day for T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively, which were not significant (P >0.05) among treatments. Total intake of DM, organic matter (OM) and CP were not significantly different among treatments (P>0.05). The CP and DM intake of experimental sheep were in the order of T10.05). The partial budget analysis showed that sheep offered with relatively the highest level of CP (T4) and (T5) returned a higher net income (296.05 and 304.35ETB/head), respectively. The current experiment reveals that FBH could be an alternative supplement which may substitute WB in the diets of sheep in the highlands of Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of fertilizer type and oat accessions on agronomic performance, forage yield and chemical composition under acidic soil condition in Ethiopia. This study employed randomized complete block design (RCBD) using 3 by 3 factorial with three replications. The forage oat accessions used in the study were: CI8251, CI8237 and Jassari and the three fertilizer types used were inorganic (NPK), organic (compost) and without fertilizer. The data collected from the study includes: plant morphological parameters such as plant height (PH), leaf length (LL), number of leaves per plant (LNPP), number of tillers per plant (NTPP), forage dry matter (DM) yield and chemical composition of the forage. The collected data were analyzed with general linear model (GLM) of statistical analysis system (SAS) version 9.4. The result indicated most of the morphological parameters were not significantly affected by the effects of fertilizer type while oat accession had also effect on these factors. Regarding fertilizer application, there was significant different (p<0.0001) among fertilizer types in all morphological parameters. Among chemical composition parameters dry matter (DM), DM yield, organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), CP yield, ASH, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) were significantly different (p<0.0001), for both fertilizer and oat accessions. The highest CP content was observed for the treatments received chemical fertilizer (NPK) which was 11%. It can be concluded, that the addition of inorganic and organic fertilizer with the grass species in the present study improved oat accession morphological characteristics which could be a reflection of biomass yield and also the nutritional value of oat grass in this experiment. Of the oat accessions assessed, CI825 was selected in terms of DM yield and CP contents followed by plant CI8237 and Jassari in the current study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural pasture in Ethiopia is typically low in forage botanical composition, biomass yield nutritive value because of overgrazing and lack of alternative improved forage plants. The field experiment was conducted to determine the effects of plant spacing and harvesting age on agronomic performance and chemical composition of Para grass (Brachiaria mutica) at Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The experiment was a 3x3 factorial layout in a RCBD with three replications giving a total of 27 plots. The between plant spacing were 15, 30 and 45 cm and the harvesting ages were 60, 90 and 120 days. The data collected were morphological characteristics such as plant height(PH), number of tillers per plant (NTPP), leaf length per plant (LLPP), number of roots per plant (NRPP), root length per plant (RLPP), leaf to stem ratio (LSR), number of leaves per plant (NLPP), dry matter yield (DMY) and chemical composition of the forage. Forage samples were taken for chemical composition analyses. All data were subjected to GLM ANOVA procedures of SAS version 9.0. Results showed that the interaction between plant spacing and harvesting age had a significant (p<0.05) effect on plant characteristics, DMY and chemical composition of Para grass except CP yield (p>0.05). Plant characteristics were significantly (p<0.05) increased as the plant spacing and age of harvesting raised and PH, OM and ADF were increased as maturity of the plant at all plant spacing. DMY and DM content were significantly (p<0.05) increased with narrow plant spacing and advanced maturity. Therefore it could be concluded that both harvesting age and between plant spacing are critical in the forage production parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted using twenty four Gumuz ram lambs with an initial body weight of 19.05±2.29 kg (mean±SD) to investigate the response to supplementations on feed intake, body weigh change and carcass characteristics of Gumuz sheep. The sheep were treated against endo- and ecto- parasites before commencing the study. The experimental design was a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with six replications. The treatments were: natural pasture hay alone (T1), natural pasture hay+ 1noug seed cake (NSC):1 wheat bran (WB) (T2), natural pasture hay + 2NSC: 1WB (T3) and natural pasture hay + 3NSC:1WB (T4). The supplements were offered at the rate of 400 g/day, which were offered twice per day at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m hours in equal portions. The feeding trial was carried out for 90 days after 15 days of adaptation period to the experimental feeds and conditions, which were then followed by carcass evaluation at the end of the study. Supplemented treatments had higher (P<0. 01) total DMI (712.53-724.92 g/d) than the control (672.55 g/d). Supplemented sheep gained BW within the range of 44.26-86.67g/sheep/day with significantly higher (p<0.001) differences among the supplemented groups. Better (p<0.001) FCE was observed in the supplemented treatments than the control, but no significant differences (p>0.001) were recorded among the supplemented treatments. Sheep fed natural pasture hay alone had the lowest net return (-114.46 ETB) and had lowest (p<0.001) values for carcass parameters than the supplemented treatments. The possible reason might be because of the relatively less body condition which could not attract prime price in the market. The highest (p<0.01) dressing percentage (44.22%) as a proportion of slaughter weight was recorded in T4. Supplemented treatments had rib-eye muscle area in a range of 6.37-10.12 cm² and the lowest rib-eye muscle area (4.71cm²) was recorded in the control treatment. Sheep supplemented with 3NSC:1WB (T4) had the highest net return (287.78 ETB and highest MRR (4.96) compared to the other supplemented treatments. Thus, it is recommended that supplementation of hay with 400 g/head/day concentrate mixture at 3NSC:1WB proportion is biologically efficient and potentially profitable in the feeding of growing Gumuz sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of fertilizer types and plant spacings on plant morphology, biomass yield and chemical composition of brachiaria hybrid mulato II grass grown using irrigation in lowlands of northwest Ethiopia. The experimental design used was a 3×3 factorial layout in a randomized complete block design with three replications which had a total of 27 plots, each measuring 2×2 m2. The plant spacings were 15, 30 and 45cm between plants and fertilizer types were commercial fertilizer (NPS), cattle manure and control (without fertilizer). Morphological parameters such as plant height (PH), leaf length per plant (LLPP), number of leaves per plant (NLPP), number of tillers per plant (NTPP), leaf to stem ratio (LSR), number of roots per plant (NRPP),root length per plant (RLPP), root circumference(RC), leaf area index (LAI), biomass yield and chemical composition were collected. All the data were subjected to GLM ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) following the procedures of SAS (Statistical Analysis System). The result showed that most of the morphological parameters were significantly (P<0.05) affected by fertilizer and plant spacings. Similarly, significant (P<0.05) differences were observed in most of chemical composition of the grass by fertilizer type; but not by plant spacing except for DM (Dry matter) and CP (Crude protein). In the current study it can be concluded that fertilizer types had significant contribution on the brachiaria grass morphology and chemical composition grown in the lowland area of Ethiopia. The commercial fertilizer (NPS) fertilizer is recommendable for brachiaria hybrid grass production if it is accessible by smallholder farmers; otherwise, the use of manure could be the next option in the study area and in similar environments. Regarding plant spacing, for better biomass production intermediate plant spacing (30 cm x 50 cm) is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]