Page 99 - 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”

Table 1: Proximate composition of concentrate feed, Desmanthus virgatus and Gliricidia sepium
(Mean ± SE*)

Parameters Concentrate feed Desmanthus virgatus Gliricidia sepium
Crude protein (%) 16.48 ± 0.64 20.16 ± 1.01 24.55 ± 1.01
a
b
Ether extract (%) 0.44 ± 0.02 3.67 ± 0.01 2.46 ± 0.01
b
a
Crude fibre (%) 6.49 ± 0.03 18.76 ± 0.97 16.76 ± 0.87
b
a
Total ash (%) 8.69 ± 0.42 10.29 ± 0.52 9.84 ± 0.52
Nitrogen free extract 67.85 ± 3.48 47.12 ± 2.34 37.82 ± 1.76
a
b
(%)
* Mean of six samples; Means bearing different superscripts between rows differ significantly (P<0.01)
The crude protein content is higher for Gliricidia sepium fodder (24.55%) compared to Desmanthus
virgatus. The chemical composition of Gliricidia fodders is well comparable as reported by Onwudike, 1995.

The effect of Gliricidia sepium fodder feeding on daily feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion
ratio of rabbits is presented in table 2.

Table 2: Effect of Gliricidia sepium fodder feeding on daily feed intake, weight gain and feed
conversion ratio of rabbits (Mean ± SE*)

Parameters Control Treatment

Initial body weight (g) 482.25 ± 20.54 484.35 ± 22.15
Final body weight (g) 1653.40 ± 71.65 1842.75 ± 81.39
b
a
Weight gain (g) 1175.15 ± 55.18 1365.40 ± 65.44
b
a
Concentrate feed intake (g/day) 50.54 ± 3.05 58.34 ± 3.86
b
a
Fodder intake (g/day) 11.36 ± 1.12 17.26 ± 1.36
b
a
Total feed intake (g/day) 62.08 ± 1.09 76.59 ± 1.45
b
a
Average weight gain (g/day) 13.01 ± 0.07 15.09 ± 0.07
a
b
FCR 4.77 ± 0.06 5.08 ± 0.04
a
b
Feed cost (Rs/day) 16.50 15.00
* Mean of six samples; Means bearing different superscripts between rows differ significantly (P<0.01)
The rabbits which received Gliricidia fodder had a significantly (P<0.01) higher rate of gain than those
which received Desmanthus fodder. Intake of the pelleted concentrate was significantly (P<0.01) higher for
the rabbits which received Gliricidia while the feeding of Desmanthus (Pasupathi, et al., 2020) significantly
reduced pellet intake. Efficiency of feed utilization was however significantly (P< 0.01) lower for the
Desmanthus fed rabbits than for the rabbits fed Gliricidia (Onwudike, 1995).

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