Abstract
The study was conducted to determine the yield and nutritional quality of sweet lupine (Lupinus angustifolius.) grown in midaltitude of Lemo District, Southern Ethiopia. The yield and nutritive value of sweet lupine in terms of quantity and quality was conducted using a factorial experiment arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments for the study were two sweet lupine varieties (Vitabore and Sanabore), two locations (Upper Gana and Jewe Kebeles, and six levels of planting spacing: 30 cm × 7 cm (S1), 40 cm × 7 cm (S2), 30 cm × 15 cm (S3), 40 cm × 15 cm (S4), 30 cm × 20 cm (S5), and 40 cm × 20 cm (S6)). The yield, chemical composition, and digestibility among parameters were studied. Sweet lupine varieties in Upper Gana Kebele gave the highest green forage yield (39.58 t/ha) and forage dry matter (4.84 t/ha) at 30 cm × 7 cm planting spacing, respectively. Seed yield (SYD) (t/ha) was highly affected ( P < 0.01 ) by location. The maximum seed (2.98 t/ha) yield was observed in Upper Gana Kebele with the minimum (2.15 t/ha) at Jewe Kebele. The forage in Jewe Kebele gave the highest organic matter (OM) (87.01%) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) (37.50%) content at a stage of 100% flowering. Sweet lupine forage in Upper Gana Kebele gave the highest crude protein (CP) content (23.11%) while the highest forage CP content was recorded at a planting space of 40 cm × 20 cm (23.67%). Sweet lupine forage gave the maximum in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) (69.10%) at a spacing of 40 cm × 20 cm in Upper Gana. The highest CP (29.11%) content and IVOMD (80.49%) of seed were recorded in Upper Gana Kebele. The overall result of this study suggested that green forage yield and forage dry matter yield are affected by location, planting spacing, and stage of flowering, whereas the chemical composition of sweet lupine forage was affected by location and variety interaction (dry matter and acid detergent fiber), location and stage of flowering interaction (OM, ADF and total ash), location (CP, metabolizable energy (ME), and IVOMD), planting spacing (CP and IVOMD), and stage of flowering (CP and ME). On the other hand, sweet lupine seed yield, seed CP, and IVOMD were affected by location. The large differences in yield and nutritive values observed among sweet lupine varieties, growth environment, planting spacing, and their interactions entail consideration of these factors for appropriate utilization of sweet lupine as a feed resource for livestock.
Highlights
Feed is the most important input in livestock production and its adequate supply throughout the year is an essential prerequisite for substantial expansion in livestock production [1]
Description of the Study Area. e experiment was conducted at Lemo district, Upper Gana (07° 34′ 24′′ N, 037° 46′ 4′′ E) and Jewe (07° 30′ 35′′ N, 037° 47′ 1′′E) Kebeles. e area is situated in Hadiya Zone, Southern Region, Ethiopia. e study site is located at 223 km South of Addis Ababa. e site has an altitude ranging between 2012 and 2202 meters above sea level. e average annual rainfall is between 1300 and 1400 mm with a bimodal distribution from February to April and from June to September and the average annual minimum and maximum temperatures are 18 and 23°C, respectively
E higher stand number per m2 at herbage harvested (13.90 stands/m2) and seed harvest (18.10 stands/m2) were observed in Upper Gana Kebele than Jewe Kebele (12.26 stands/m2 at herbage harvested and 12.52 stands/m2 at seed harvest), respectively. e result of this study disagreed with the result observed by [13], who reported that the number of stands per m2 ranges from 15.41 to 15.66 at seed harvest. e number of plants per unit area influences plant size, yield components, and the seed yield [15]. e plants planted at narrower spacing between rows and plants
Summary
Feed is the most important input in livestock production and its adequate supply throughout the year is an essential prerequisite for substantial expansion in livestock production [1]. Shortage of feed supply in terms of quantity and quality is the main factor limiting livestock productivity in Ethiopia [2]. Livestock feed resources in Ethiopia are mainly coming from natural grasslands, crop residues, crop aftermath, fodder trees, and shrubs followed by agroindustrial by-products, improved forage crops, and improved pastures [3]. Crop residues and natural pastures in the dry seasons are low in crude protein (CP), vitamin, and metabolizable energy (ME) content. Livestock productivity and reproductive efficiency in Ethiopia is low [4]. International Journal of Agronomy protein supplements is crucial to improve livestock production and productivity. Growing and using legume crops like sweet lupine that have high nutritive value is one option to solve this problem [4]
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