Estimation of production and quality of forage under palm oil plantations in different sections

Abstract

The objective of this experiment was to determine forage production and quality under palm oil plantations in different sections. Data were collected from palm oil plantations aged of 9 years in PT. Buana Karya Bhakti, South Kalimantan with a destructive sampling method and then analyzed for forage production, botanical diversity, and chemical compositions. The data were analyzed using T-test. The results showed that dry matter forage production in the edge section (2,914±854 kg/ha/year) was higher (P<0.01) than that in middle section (754±191 kg/ha/year). Chemical composition: DM, CP, EE, NFE and TDN contents of forage in the edge section were not significantly different with in the middle section, however OM and CF contents in the edge section were higher (P<0.01) than that in the middle section. The NDF and ADF contents in the edge and middle sections were not significantly differents, while lignin content in the middle section (15.1±0.6%) was higher (P<0.01) than that in the edge section (10.8±1.0%). It can identified 90 plants species which consisted of 30 species grasses, 38 species forbs, 9 species ferns and 13 species other plants. In conclusion, the edge section under palm oil plantation more potential to provide ruminant feed.