Feeding ruminants using Tithonia diversifolia as forage

Abstract

T. Diversifolia can growth in acid soils including high levels of aluminium and low levels of phosphorus. 9 It is important to mention that T. Diversifolia is able to take mobilized phosphorus from the soil to the plant, which is a positive characteristic for most of tropical soils. It requires 800 to 5.000mm of water, 16 to 30°C and can growth from sea level to 2.500m altitude. 9 Usually, T. Diversifolia occurs in marginal area as of roads, around crop fields and hedges or close to farm houses. In Latin America and Caribbean (Colombia, México, Cuba, Panama, Dominican Republic and Brazil) pure stands are growing fast as farmers start to recognize the high biomass production and nutritional value of the plant. Usually, T. Diversifolia is propagated from stem cuttings of 20 to 40cm length, inserted vertically into the soil, 10 to 20cm deep. Seeds can also be used as they germinate under the canopy or even in plastic bags, and then seedlings transplanted to other areas. The main benefit of this method is that the roots will grow deeper in the soils, compared to vegetative method, and the growth is improved. However, the biomass production is influenced by soil quality, planting methods, cutting frequency, stand density and weather. 9,12,13 Although it has been used as a fodder for animal nutrition, 4,7,8,14 there are several uses reported for T. Diversifolia like insect repellent and negative effect against ants, 15 allelopathic effect against other plants, 16,17 source of nectar for bees 18 and sources of nutrients (N, P and K) for degraded soils as the biomass is quickly decomposed and consequently nutrients are easily released to the soil. 2,19 Nutritive value The studies developed by The University of Sao Joao del-Rei-Brazil (UFSJ) and CIPAV (Colombia) showed promising results for the use of T. Diversifolia as forage for ruminant nutrition. The chemical constituents of whole plant, leaves and stem obtained during the booting and pre-flowering stage when plant height reached 0.80-1.0m from the soil are good examples of important elements that could provide positive evidences of the nutritional values of T. Diversifolia. 20 The total dry matter (8.1ton/ha for booting and 5.6t/ha for pre-flowering) and fresh production (41.3ton/ha for booting and 24.7t/ha for pre-flowering) of whole plant were also included (alley crop system). The protein values during the booting (164.7g/kg DM) were higher compared to pre-flowering (149.1g/kg DM) stage. These values are as high as the values observed in some tropical legumes like, Stylosanthesguianensis (162.0g/kg DM), 21 Arachispintoi (180.0g/kg DM) 22 Gliricidia sepium (139.0g/kg DM) 22 and are higher

Utilization of Tithonia diversifolia as Ruminant Feed

“…Perbanyakan secara generatif ini memiliki keunggulan dibanding vegetatif, dimana perakarannya akan lebih dalam dan pertumbuhannya lebih baik. Meski demikian tinggi rendahnya produksi biomassa tetap dipengaruhi oleh kualitas tanah, metode penanaman, frekuensi pemotongan, jarak tanam dan kondisi cuaca (Mauricio et al 2017).…”

“…Menurut Mauricio et al (2017) pada pemanenan T. diversifolia dengan intensitas 0,8 sampai 1 meter di atas permukaan tanah, diperoleh total produksi segar (untuk seluruh bagian tanaman) masing-masing sejumlah 41,3 t/ha dan 24,7 t/ha masing-masing saat booting dan pra-berbunga; sedang total produksi bahan kering adalah sebanyak 8,1 t/ha untuk booting dan 5,6 t/ha untuk pra-berbunga). Selanjutnya disebutkan bahwa nilai protein selama booting (164,7 g/kg BK) lebih tinggi dibandingkan tahap sebelum berbunga (149,1 g/kg BK).…”

“…Sebagai sumber hijauan pakan untuk ruminansia, spesies ini dapat meningkatkan asupan nutrisi dan produksi serta membantu mengurangi biaya suplementasi. Ketika ditanam bersama rumput dalam pertanaman campuran dapat berkontribusi terhadap peningkatan produksi daging dan susu per hektar serta kualitas susu (Mauricio et al 2017).…”

Effect of different genotypes of

“…The benefits of T. diversifolia come from its superior nutritional value due to its high content of crude protein (CP), minerals and energy, low fibre content, the presence of beneficial phytochemical compounds such as phenolics, flavonoids and some essential oils, and its ability to adapt to different soil and climatic conditions including acidic and low-fertility soils (Chagas-Paula et al 2012;Mauricio et al 2017). Some phytochemical compounds in T. diversifolia can decrease enteric methane (CH 4 ) production and modify gas production rates through inhibitory effects on specific groups of rumen microorganisms (Barahona et al 2003;Delgado et al 2012;Banik et al 2013;Bhatta et al 2013).…”

Fases de desarrollo y propagación de ecotipos destacados de Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray

“…A. Gray es una arbustiva de la familia Asteraceae que, por su facultad de adaptación a múltiples condiciones ambientales, edáficas y de manejo, capacidad de rebrote y rápido crecimiento, y alto valor y aporte nutricional, ha demostrado su potencial para la alimentación animal (3,4,5) . T. diversifolia puede reproducirse tanto por semilla gámica como por semilla asexual, confiriéndole gran capacidad de reproducción y colonización de nuevos hábitats (6,7) .…”