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1st Int. Transborder Conf. of the Timor Island: Timor %u2013 Science without borderDili, 7-8 May 202554Nutrient Content and In Vitro Digestibility of Indigofera Grown with SorghumGusti A. Y. Lestari*, I Gusti B. A. Arsa, Maria R. Deno Ratu and Markus M. Kleden1 Faculty of Animal Science, Fishery and Marine Science, IndonesiaCorresponding author: yudilestari64@gmail.comAbstractThe shortage of animal feed in dryland areas with arid climates is a recurring issue each year, necessitating efforts to promote sustainable feed provision. One promising source of tree legumes that is relatively adaptive to such conditions is Indigofera, which can be cultivated either as a monoculture or in intercropping systems. This study aimed to determine the nutrient content of the tree legume Indigofera zollingeriana when intercropped with sorghum. Indigofera was planted with a spacing of 2 x 2 meters, eight weeks before the sorghum. At the time of sorghum planting, the Indigofera seedlings had reached heights of 10%u201315 cm. Sorghum was then planted between the Indigoferarows, and the Indigofera was harvested when the sorghum plants reached the generative phase. The results showed that Indigofera growth was suppressed by competition with the sorghum, particularly due to shading by the sorghum canopy. The height of Indigofera at the time of harvest ranged from 66 to 143 cm, with an average of 119.75 cm. Fresh biomass production was relatively low at 387.5 kg/ha. Nutrient analysis revealed the following: dry matter content was 31.79%, crude protein 18.75%, crude fiber 18.97%, and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) 48.29%. The in vitro digestibility values for dry matter and organic matter were 68.49% and 66.36%, respectively. Rumen fermentation parameters, as indicated by concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and ammonia (NH%u2083), were 144.41 mM and 12.79 mM, respectively. Cell wall component analysis showed neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of 46.06% and 31.79%, respectively. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that Indigofera has good nutritional quality%u2014especially its crude protein content%u2014which is sufficient to meet the nitrogen requirements of rumen microbes, as reflected by the elevated levels of NH%u2083 and VFA fermentation products.Keywords: Indigofera, crude protein, cell wall, in vitro digestibility