Leucaena feeding systems in Myanmar

A Aung

doi:10.17138/tgft(7)423-427

Abstract

Keynote paper presented at the International Leucaena Conference, 1‒3 November 2018, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.Agriculture and livestock provide the main source of income for farmers in Myanmar. As feeds with low nutritive value and digestibility are traditionally used for animal feed, alternative feed sources of better quality are needed to improve production levels. While concentrates can be used to improve the quality of diets, this leads to high feed costs. To solve this problem, researchers in Myanmar conducted trials to replace some concentrates with leucaena. The nutritive value of leucaena in Myanmar is relatively the same as found in other countries. Control of leucaena toxicity was also studied in Myanmar by isolating mimosine-degrading bacteria and managing the feeding of leucaena. While farmers in Myanmar are aware that leucaena can be fed to livestock and can be toxic to animals, they have limited knowledge of the real benefits of leucaena as a feed for animals. Research to demonstrate the potential of leucaena feeding to animals in Myanmar and efforts to promote establishment of leucaena stands are urgently needed.

Highlights

Increasing human population densities highlight the priority that must be placed on efficient land use for the production of food and plantation crops
This demographic pressure leads to increased emphasis on the development of productive and intensive livestock and agricultural systems (Aung Aung 2007)
Livestock production contributes a large portion of household income in developing countries

Summary

Introduction

Increasing human population densities highlight the priority that must be placed on efficient land use for the production of food and plantation crops. Crop residues are the main source of animal feed, especially during the dry period, with rice straw being the most abundant and widely used feed in many Asian countries including Myanmar (Trung 1987) These agricultural fibrous residues have severe nutritional limitations, being low in digestibility and crude protein, and high in fiber and anti-nutritional factors such as lignin, silica, gossypol, etc. Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) is a palatable, digestible and nutritious forage for cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, chickens and other animals (ter Meulen et al 1979) as it provides a valuable source of protein, energy, vitamins and minerals for rumen bacteria (van Tol 2004) and is quite versatile. Leucaena foliage and young branches supply both nutrients and roughage, forming an almost complete ruminant feed and being widely used as forage for cattle in tropical agriculture (Shelton 1998) Nutritive value of leucaena reported from different regions and seasons showed little variation and was similar to results from other countries

Experiments on feeding leucaena to animals

Conclusion