Abstract
Forage crops are essential for developing ruminant livestock farming. The combination of grasses and legumes in the same pasture provides a forage with more balanced nutritional value which enhances animal performance. In sub-Saharan africa, forage crops are very rarely practiced. The objective of this study was to improve the quality of the forage given to ruminants, by growing together, grasses and legumes in the same pasture. A legume (Aeschynomene histrix) has been studied in association with two grasses (Andropogon gayanus, Panicum maximum). The study was carried out to evaluate the competitiveness of the legume forage according to different grass establishment densities in order to identify the mixture that offers a better compromise between productivity, forage quality and pasture stability. The evolution of the forage biomass and its nutritional value were evaluated over three years. The results obtained shown that the legume grows better in the presence of one of the two grasses studied. The forage from one grass had on average higher energy and nitrogen values that the other. However, the method of mowing used in this study was not sufficient to make a complete judgment on the stability of the two types of associations. The associations studied will have to be grazed by the cattle before concluding definitively.
Highlights
Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the main meat importers in the world
Forage crops are essential for developing ruminant livestock farming in rural Africa, as has been the case in many other tropical regions [2]
In the first and third year, the percentage of legume in forage production was greater in associations with Andropogon gayanus than in mixtures with Panicum maximum
Summary
Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the main meat importers in the world. Meat imports into sub-Saharan Africa account for 8% of world trade, but are expected to increase by around 6% per year over the 2015-2025 period [1]. To limit the share of imports in meat consumption of the countries of this part of the world, efforts should be made to develop the sector of herbivores breeding, whose feed is not competitive with that of human, unlike poultry or pigs. Herbivorous animals (such as ruminants) are fed with fibrous feed, based on fodder and plant byproducts. Their feed may contain a very small proportion of cereals, which can be used directly for human consumption. Forage crops are essential for developing ruminant livestock farming in rural Africa, as has been the case in many other tropical regions [2]
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