| dc.description |
Low
pasture
biomass
production
and
dry
seasons
fodder
scarcity
are
among
the
major
challenges
affecting
productivity
of
dairy
cattle
in
Tanzania.
Field
experiments
were
set
to
evaluate
growth,
biomass
yields
and
nutritional
contents
of
four
napier
grass
(
Pennisetum
purpureum
Schumach)
varieties
as
feed
for
ruminants.
Experimental
napier
varieties
in
cluded
Ouma,
Kakamega
2
(KK2),
Bana
and
local
napier
(LN).
The
study
was
conducted
in
the
Western
Usambara
highlands
(WUHs)
in
Tanzania
between
December
2016
and
April
2017
(110
days).
The
results
indicated
that
the
varietal
mean
stem
heights
differed
significantly
(
P
<
0.001);
whereby
LN,
Ouma,
KK2
and
Bana
had
mean
heights
of
210.81,
185.72,
177.15
and
145.44
cm
respectively.
There
was
a
significant
difference
(
P
=
0.025)
in
the
mean
total
forage
biomass
production
in
which
KK2,
LN,
Ouma
and
Bana
yielded
16,551,
14,035,
12,868
and
8954
kg
dry
matter/ha
respectively.
The
crude
protein
content
averaged
9.92%
and
did
not
differ
significantly
across
the
varieties
(
P
=
0.83).
The
mean
metabolizable
energy
was
7.94
MJ/kg
dry
matter
and
did
not
differ
significantly
across
the
varieties
(
P
=
0.11).
The
in
vitro
organic
matter
digestibility
differed
significantly
(
P
=
0.03);
65.87,
59.22,
58.33
and
55.41%
for
Ouma,
Bana,
KK2
and
LN
respectively.
This
study
demon
strates
that
Ouma
and
KK2
can
be
established
in
the
WUHs
for
forage
use
due
to
higher
biomass
production.
Further
studies
on
ensiling
and
animal
feeding
would
provide
valu
able
information
for
optimizing
forage
conservation
and
animal
performance
in
the
WUHs
and
elsewhere
with
similar
conditions. |
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