1. Examples of successful adoption of forage leg- umes are reported from all continents, where they delivered profi tability and often provided multi- purpose benefi ts to farmers. 2. Factors vital to successful adoption were: meeting the needs of farmers; building relevant partner- ships; understanding the socio- economic context and skills of farmers; partici patory involvement with rural communities; and long-term involve- ment of champions. 3. Organisation of seed supply, achieving scale-up and forming partnerships to implement adoption are key features. 4. Legumes remain an important but under-exploited resource for tropical farming systems. The alter- native to legumes will be greater and more costly use of N-fertilisers and purchased protein concen- trates. 5. The R&D organisations will need to provide long- term support and greater investment for legume technologies to deliver benefi ts to farmers. Support will be needed for training and education programs to overcome declining availability of forage legume expertise and lack of awareness of oppor tunity for use of tropical forage legumes
Tag: forage
Effect of fertilizer inputs on productivity and herbage quality of native pasture in degraded tropical grasslands
The practice of applying fertilizer inputs on an unimproved natural pasture is limited in tropical grasslands. A study was conducted to evaluate the response of degraded natural pasturelands in terms of species composition, forage yield, and quality to the application of different types of fertilizer. The study was conducted in two districts in the central Rift Valley of Ethiopia with contrasting agroecologies. The treatments were control (no application of fertilizer), commercial fertilizer (50 kg urea ha–1 and 100 kg diammonium phosphate [DAP] ha–1), cattle manure (7.5 t ha–1), wood ash (3 t ha–1), and lime (7.5 t ha–1). Soil physical properties were not altered following application of the treatments, but chemical properties, including soil pH (P < .01), electroconductivity (EC) (P < .001), total nitrogen (TN), and P (P < .001) were affected. Soil TN increased from 0.11 to 0.32% following the application of cattle manure. The pH increased from 5.9 to 7.3 with wood ash application. Herbage dry matter (DM) yield increased (P < .001) from 1.88 to 6.65 t ha–1 with chemical fertilizer. The herbage crude protein content increased (P < .01) from 96 to 157 g kg–1 with manure application. On the other hand, the neutral detergent fiber tended to decrease (P < .05) following manure application. Partial cost-benefit analysis indicated a positive economic gain from the direct sale of pasture hay for all treatments except for lime. The results indicated that fertilizer inputs offer feasible options to improve pasture productivity and enable rural farmers to benefit from their land resources.
Livestock production challenges and improved forage production efforts in the Damot Gale District of Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia
This study was conducted to identify major livestock production constraints and improved forage production efforts in the Damot Gale district. Four representative kebeles, two associated with our NGO project and two from nonproject outreach activities, were selected. Forty farmers from each kebele were randomly chosen for the purpose of individual interviews using a semistructured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS (version 20) and Excel. The topmost livestock production constraint was feed shortage where a larger proportion of farmers (75.6%) suffered from the problem with higher ( ≤ 0.01) severity in nonproject intervention areas. Of these, 38.6% were challenged for a period of three months while another 61.4% suffered for about four months. Purchasing grass (31.4%) and concentrate (33.5%) and feeding enset (Ensete ventricosum) leaf (21.49%) were the most commonly adopted coping mechanisms to alleviate feed shortages during the dry season, while using purchased grass and enset leaf was the main coping strategy in nonproject intervention ( ≤ 0.01) areas. The majority of households (90.75%) participate in improved forage production regardless of farm size. Desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum) (71.38%) and elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) (42.63%) are the most common improved forages in both study areas. These forages are produced for the purpose of two or more functions (feed, cash, and preventing erosion) that vary ( ≤ 0.01) among intervention status. Major niche locations adopted for improved forage production include farm land, soil and water conservation structures, and perimeter fencing. Greatest constraints on improved forage production were seed/material shortage followed by land shortage and lack of awareness. Project intervention ( ≤ 0.01), tropical livestock unit (TLU) holding ( ≤ 0.01), and forage seed/planting material access ( < 0.05) were identified as factors (among others) having significant relationship with improved forage development. Strong extension services and efficient input delivery for farmers are vital to support profitable livestock production and resource utilization.
Forage yield and replacing concentrate supplements with oat and vetch mixed forage on the performance of sheep fed Desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum) based diets
Smallholder farmers are often challenged by lack of access and affordability of concentrate supplements for fattening small ruminants. An on-farm feeding experiment was conducted using 32 yearling rams (weighing 21.1±2.3 kg), to evaluate the effect of replacing a concentrate supplement with a home-grown oat-vetch mixed forage on the performance of lambs fed Desho grass basal feed adlibitum. In addition experimental forage yield was determined.
Diet composition affects liver and mammary tissue transcriptome in primiparous holstein dairy cows
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the overall adaptations of liver and mammary tissue to a corn stover (CS) compared to a mixed forage (MF) diet in mid-lactation primiparous dairy cows. Twenty-four primiparous lactating Holstein cows were randomly allocated to 2 groups receiving either an alfalfa forage diet (MF, F:C = 60:40) with Chinese wildrye, alfalfa hay and corn silage as forage source or a corn stover forage diet (CS, F:C = 40:60). A subgroup of cows (n = 5/diet) was used for analysis of liver and mammary transcriptome using a 4 × 44K Bovine Agilent microarray chip. The results of functional annotation analysis showed that in liver CS vs. MF inhibited pathways related to lipid metabolism while induced the activity of the potassium channel. In mammary tissue, fatty acid metabolism was activated in CS vs. MF. In conclusion, the analysis of genes affected by CS vs. MF indicated mammary gland responding to lower level of linoleate from the diet (lower in CS vs. MF) by activating the associated biosynthesis metabolic pathway while the liver adaptively activated potassium transport to compensate for a lower K ingestion. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.