Growth of Bali bulls fattened with Leucaena leucocephala in Sumbawa, Eastern Indonesia

Abstract

The contribution of West Nusa Tenggara Province to domestic beef supply in Indonesia is relatively small; however, beef cattle are very important for the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the region. Bali cattle (Bos javanicus) are the predominant breed, as they are adapted to harsh nutritional conditions, are highly fertile and have low calf mortality (Toelihere 2003). While these cattle are genetically capable of achieving a growth rate of 0.85 kg/d (Mastika 2003), this is rarely achieved as poor nutrition is a severe limitation to animal growth in traditional village systems (Panjaitan 2012). Improving feed quality and supply is vital to increasing growth rates and product quality. Forage tree legumes such as leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) offer the best chance of providing high quality feed to fatten Bali bulls in village systems, where leucaena is well-adapted. Leucaena has been fed for about 2 decades in Sumbawa district of West Nusa Tenggara, although the practice is limited to specific villages, mostly Balinese, even though farmers nearby have similar biophysical conditions and livestock nutrition problems. The objective of this work was to document the practices employed by farmers in Sumbawa to maximize growth rates by feeding leucaena, so that their detailed knowledge can be passed onto other villagers in a pilot roll-out program (Kana Hau 2014).