The effects of feeding graded levels of dried moringa (Moringa stenopetala) leaf on intake, body weight gain (BWG), digestibility and nitrogen utilization were studied using male sheep (BW of 13.8±0.12 kg). Six sheep were randomly allocated to each of the four treatment diets: Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) hay offered ad libitum (T1), hay+150 g moringa leaf (T2), hay+300 g moringa leaf (T3), hay+450 g moringa leaf (T4) were offered daily. A 7-day digestibility trial and an 84-day growth experiments were conducted. Dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) intakes increased (P<0.05) with increasing levels of moringa leaf in the diets. Sheep fed T2, T3 and T4 diets gained (P<0.05) 40.2, 79.1 and 110.1 g/head/day, respectively, while the control group (T1) lost weight (−13.3 g/head/day). The apparent digestibilities of DM, OM, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre were similar (P>0.05) among treatments. The digestibility of dietary CP increased (P<0.05) with increasing levels of moringa leaf, but there was no significant difference between T2 and T3 diets. The nitrogen (N) intake and urinary N excretion increased (P<0.05) with increasing levels of moringa leaf. The N retention was highest (P<0.05) for 450 g moringa leaf supplementation. The control group was in a negative N balance. Supplementing a basal diet of Rhodes grass hay with dried moringa leaves improved DM intake, BWG and N retention. It is concluded that M. stenopetala can serve as a protein supplement to low-quality grass during the dry season under smallholder sheep production system.

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Effects of supplementing sheep consuming wheat straw with local agro-industrial by-products on feed intake, growth, digestibility and nitrogen utilization were determined. Thirty 1-year-old local wethers, with a mean (+/-SD) live weight of 19.8 (+/-1.06) kg, were assigned to five treatments: wheat straw + atella (T1), wheat straw + atella + poultry litter (T2), wheat straw + atella + coffee pulp (T3), wheat straw + atella + coffee pulp + poultry litter (T4), hay + concentrate (T5). A 7-day digestibility experiment and a 112-day growth trial were conducted. Total dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) intake as well as body weight gain was similar for all treatments. The highest (P < 0.05) nitrogen (N) intake was in sheep fed T1 and T4 diets, while the lowest was in those fed T2 and T5 diets. Sheep fed T1 and T2 diets had greater (P < 0.05) DM and OM digestibility than those fed T4 and T5 diets. The highest (P < 0.05) digestibility of N was for the T2, T4, and T5 diets, while the lowest was for the T1 diet. The highest N retention was in T4 diet, whereas the lowest was in T3 diet. In conclusion, in urban and peri-urban areas where atella, poultry litter, or coffee pulp are available, smallholder farmers could feed the mixtures as a supplement to straw with a good performance without using concentrate feeds.

Summary Feed intake, in vivo nutrient digestibility and nitrogen utilization were evaluated in male sheep fed different fractions (leaf, pseudostem, corm, whole plant) of enset, untreated or 2% urea‐ and 3% calcium oxide‐ (CaO or lime) treated wheat straw and Desmodium intortum hay as sole diets. All feeds, except D. intortum hay and enset leaf had low crude protein (CP) content. Non‐fiber carbohydrate contents were higher in enset fractions, especially in pseudostem and corm relative to other feeds. Enset leaf and pseudostem had high calcium, phosphorus and manganese contents. Corm, whole enset and D. intortum hay were rich sources of zinc. Daily dry matter and CP intakes were higher (p < 0.05) in sheep fed D. intortum hay (830 and 133 g, respectively) than those fed pseudostem (92 and 7.8 g, respectively). Organic matter digestibilities were highest for corm (0.780) and whole enset (0.776) and lowest for D. intortum hay (0.534) and untreated wheat straw (0.522). The CP digestibility ranged from 0.636 in D. intortum hay to 0.408 in corm. Nitrogen (N) balance was highest (p < 0.05) in D. intortum hay (10.4 g/day) and lowest in corm (−1.3 g/day). Enset leaf could be a useful protein supplement whereas the pseudostem and corm could be good sources of energy.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of substituting sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam] vines for concentrate on growth performance, digestibility, and carcass characteristics. Thirty yearling bucks (15.3 ± 1.64 kg) were assigned into six treatments in a randomized complete block design: natural grass hay alone (T1) or supplemented with 100 % sweet potato vines (SPV) (T2), 65 % SPV + 35 % concentrate (T3), 35 % SPV + 65 % concentrate (T4), and 100 % concentrate (T5) on dry matter (DM) basis. Supplemented goats (T2, T3, T4, and T5) consumed higher (p < 0.001) total DM (553, 567, 505, and 515 g/day), respectively, when compared to the nonsupplemented (T1) goats (349 g/day). The crude protein (CP) intake (32.0, 48.6, 54.7, and 69.2 g/day) increased with increasing levels of the concentrate in the diet for T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively. The DM digestibility in T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively, was higher (P < 0.01) (0.69, 0.72, 0.72, and 0.74) than in T1 (0.56). Apparent digestibility of CP was observed to be higher (P < 0.001) in T3, T4, T5 (0.78, 0.83, and 0.88) when compared to the bucks in T2 (0.60). Higher (P < 0.001) daily weight gain (31.2, 46.4, 48.6, and 47.6 g/day) were recorded for T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively, whereas the nonsupplemented goats lost weight (-19.5 g/day). Slaughter weight, empty body weight, hot carcass weight, dressing percentage, rib-eye muscle area, and total edible offals were higher (P < 0.05) in supplemented goats compared with nonsupplemented ones. Therefore, it could be concluded that sweet potato vine can replace the conventional concentrate and could be fed with poor quality hay to prevent body weight loss of animal in the absence of other feed supplements.

No abstract

<p><strong>Background.</strong> Nowadays, in Ethiopia crop production is the dominant practice and indigenous browse species can make a large contribution to livestock feeding during dry season. However, few researches has been undertaken on the nutritional value of indigenous multipurpose browse species in this region, which means indigenous knowledge of multipurpose browse species is not strongly supported by scientific information. <strong>Objective. </strong>A study was conducted in the highland and lowlands of north western Ethiopia, to assess farmers’ preference criteria, farmer’s preference between the indigenous multipurpose browse species and the relationship of farmers’ knowledge of multipurpose browse species (MPBs) foraging value with laboratory result. <strong>Methodology.</strong> Group discussions, preference ranking and scoring by a total of 60 farmers were conducted in two agro-ecologies. <strong>Result.</strong> The farmers’ preference among MPB species which are browsed by cattle sheep and goat were determined considering availability, biomass yield, foraging value, palatability, multi-functionality and growth and re-growth ability. In the highland, the comparison among indigenous MPB species for their benefits and desired tree characteristics showed that farmers preferred <em>Albizia gummifera</em> for its availability and multi-functionality. In terms of feed value, growth and re-growth ability and palatability, the score for <em>Vernonia amygdalina</em> was higher than other MPB species. <em>Ficus thonningii</em> was preferred for its biomass yield. There was also a strong relationship between farmers’ feed value score and laboratory results. Farmers were able to differentiate effectively MPB species that had high and low protein content and <em>in vitro</em> digestibility using their indigenous feed value indicator system. In lowland, the score for <em>Ficus sycomorus</em> followed by <em>Piliostigma thonningii</em> was higher for availability and <em>Cordia africana</em> was scored higher for multi-functionality and growth and re-growth ability. In terms of feed value and palatability, <em>Piliostigma thonningii</em> has the highest score. <em>Albizia malacophylla</em> was preferred and rated highest for biomass yield. But, the laboratory indicators were non-correlated (P &gt; 0. 05) with the farmers’ assessment of feed value score. <strong>Implication.</strong> The result of this study confirms that farmers have their own criteria to evaluate browse species and can differentiate the browse species that had high and low fiber content based on their indigenous knowledge. <strong> Conclusion. </strong>Therefore, we conclude that when incorporating locally available resources, farmers’ preference criteria and indigenous knowledge is vital to efficiently utilize indigenous MPB species and to tackle feed shortage in the study area.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Antecedentes.</strong> Hoy en día, en Etiopía, la producción de cultivos es la práctica dominante y las especies de ramoneras indígenas pueden hacer una gran contribución a la alimentación del ganado durante la estación seca. Sin embargo, se han realizado pocas investigaciones sobre el valor nutricional de las especies autóctonas de ramoneo multipropósito en esta región, lo que significa que el conocimiento indígena de las especies de ramoneadores multipropósito no está fuertemente respaldado por información científica. <strong>Objetivo.</strong> Se realizó un estudio en las tierras altas y bajas del noroeste de Etiopía, para evaluar los criterios de preferencia de los agricultores, la preferencia de los agricultores entre las especies autóctonas de ramoneo multipropósito y la relación entre el conocimiento de los agricultores sobre el valor de búsqueda de especies de ramilletes multipropósito (MPB) con los resultados de laboratorio. <strong>Metodología.</strong> Se llevaron a cabo discusiones grupales, clasificación de preferencias y puntuación por un total de 60 agricultores en dos agroecologías. <strong>Resultados.</strong> La preferencia de los agricultores entre las especies de MPB que son buscadas por ganado ovino y caprino se determinó considerando la disponibilidad, el rendimiento de biomasa, el valor de forrajeo, la palatabilidad, la multifuncionalidad y la capacidad de crecimiento y rebrote. En las tierras altas, la comparación entre las especies autóctonas de MPB por sus beneficios y las características deseadas de los árboles mostró que los agricultores preferían <em>Albizia gummifera</em> por su disponibilidad y multifuncionalidad. En términos de valor alimenticio, capacidad de crecimiento y rebrote y palatabilidad, la puntuación de <em>Vernonia amygdalina</em> fue más alta que la de otras especies de MPB. Se prefirió <em>Ficus thonningii</em> por su rendimiento de biomasa. También hubo una fuerte relación entre la puntuación del valor del pienso de los agricultores y los resultados de laboratorio. Los agricultores pudieron diferenciar de manera efectiva las especies de MPB que tenían alto y bajo contenido de proteína y digestibilidad <em>in vitro</em> utilizando su sistema de indicador de valor alimenticio indígena. En las tierras bajas, la puntuación para <em>Ficus sycomorus</em> seguida de <em>Piliostigma thonningii</em> fue más alta en disponibilidad y <em>Cordia africana</em> obtuvo una puntuación más alta en multifuncionalidad y capacidad de crecimiento y rebrote. En términos de valor alimenticio y palatabilidad, <em>Piliostigma thonningii</em> tiene la puntuación más alta. Se prefirió <em>Albizia malacophylla</em> y obtuvo la calificación más alta en cuanto a rendimiento de biomasa. Sin embargo, los indicadores de laboratorio no estaban correlacionados (P&gt; 0.05) con la evaluación de los agricultores del puntaje del valor del alimento. <strong>Implicación.</strong> El resultado de este estudio confirma que los agricultores tienen sus propios criterios para evaluar las especies de ramoneras y pueden diferenciar las especies de ramoneras que tenían un contenido alto y bajo de fibra según su conocimiento indígena. <strong>Conclusión.</strong> Por lo tanto, llegamos a la conclusión de que al incorporar los recursos disponibles localmente, los criterios de preferencia de los agricultores y el conocimiento indígena son vitales para utilizar de manera eficiente las especies nativas de MPB y abordar la escasez de alimento en el área de estudio.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

This paper assesses the ability of fodder plants to reduce methane (CH 4 ) emissions while simultaneously improving animal productivity in Ethiopia. Enteric CH 4 emissions from ruminants in Ethiopia increased by 12% or ≈ 6197 Gg CO 2 -eq. in 2017 compared to the year 2011. In this study, six tropical multipurpose forages (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, Moringa stenopetala (Bak.f.) Cuf., Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr., Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp., Crotalaria juncea L., and Lablab purpureus L.(Sweet)) and maize stover were characterized in terms of chemical composition, in vitro CH 4 production, and CH 4 concentration (%). The objective was to identify forages with low CH 4 production potential but with adequate forage quality. The forages differed significantly in chemical composition and in enteric CH 4 emission. The dry matter (DM), ash, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) ranged between 89.4-95.4%, 6.08-12.5%, 3.3-30.7%, 20.4-76.0%, 10.8-44.8, and 2.9-14.1%, respectively. All forage plants, except maize stover, contained high CP content above a threshold value (i.e., 7%). Cajanus c. generates the lowest amount of CH 4 (32.83 mL/0.2 g DM incubated). CH 4 concentration (%) was used as a potential indicator to determine the capacity of a plant to lower CH 4 production. Among the studied species, L. purpureus showed the highest CH 4 reduction potential (16%) followed by C. juncea (23.45%), M. stenopetala (24.2%), and L. leucocephala (25.5%). M. stenopetala was the most frequently preferred by the farmers followed by C. juncea and L. leucocephala. We concluded that M. stenopetala, C. juncea, and L. leucocephala can be promoted as valuable feed resources for ruminants while simultaneously reducing CH 4 emissions.