Page 59 - Agroforestry system - book inner (final corrected) - 9.-3-21_Neat

National level e-symposium on “Agroforestry system for augmenting livestock
productivity and empowering resource poor rural farmers”

Straw+ Straw+ Straw+
Item Straw
G.sepium T.diversifolia L.leucocephala
Feed intake (g/day)
Total DM 439.8 603.7 633.2 670

Straw DM 382 380.2 417.6 445.9
DM digestibility (%) 41.7 49.1 51.7 48.2

Weight gain (g/day) -18.0 268.0 208.0 250.0
(Premaratne 1993 )

Studies in India also indicate a significant effect of Leucaena supplementation on liveweight gain of
calves and goats(Panjab Singh, 1994)

Effect of leucaena supplementation on Iiveweight gains
DM
DMIg Wt.gain/Loss
Item Digestibility
W 0.75Kg g/d
%
Calves
Chaffed mixed with dry grass 114 44 -240

Chaffed mixed with dry grass + 4 kg 114 44 0
leucaena leaf/hd/day

Chaffed mixed with dry grass + 2 kg 140 48 285
concentrate

Goats
Dry grass 33 36 -117

Dry grass + 50% leucaena 57 50 13
Dry grass + 75% leucaena 60 47 45

Livestock Production in Tropical Browses
In tropical ecosystems, the shrub legume Leucaena leucocephala is widely used to supply fodder to
ruminants Steers fed Pennisetum purpureum diet increased the daily LW gain from 538 to 850 g when
supplemented with leucaena and from 306 to 478 g/day with Gliricidia sepium (Abdulrazak et al. 1996).

Among other legumes used as pasture supplementation, Desmanthus spp. appeared promising . Steers
on a Desmanthus-Buffel grass pasture gained an extra 40 kg of LW compared with steers grazing only buffel
grass (Gardiner and Parker 2012).

To ensure plant survival and optimal productivity, plant height (i.e. 1.5–2.0 m) and age (i.e. 6–12 months
after seeding) should be considered at the time of browsing (Dalzell et al. 2006).

40 Institute of Animal Nutrition, Centre for Animal Production Studies, TANUVAS
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development