Weight and chemical composition of the plant parts of enset (Ensete ventricosum) and the intake and degradability of enset by cattle

The supplementary value of different parts of enset (Ensete ventricosum) to sheep fed wheat straw and Desmodium intortum hay

“…Similarly, Nurfeta et al (OnlineEarly) and Fekadu and Ledin (1997) observed low DM content in enset pseudostem compared with enset leaf and corm. Tinworth et al (1999) indicated that the DM content in fresh forages less than 150 g/kg restricts voluntary intake in ruminants.…”

“…However, in the current study, the content (g/kg DM) of NDF (501), ADF (260) and ADL (51) in the enset mixture was not consistent with previous report (Nurfeta et al, OnlineEarly). Fekadu and Ledin (1997) observed differences in the CP content of corm and lignin of leaf sheath in three enset varieties. Moreover, on the study made on ten enset varieties, Nurfeta et al (in press) observed differences in DM, ash, CP, NDF, ADF and ADL content among varieties and enset fractions.…”

“…The low CP content of wheat straw and enset fractions necessitates supplementation with leguminous forages such as Desmodium hay or urea. In ruminants, the DM intake can be improved by urea supplementation of enset pseudostem (Fekadu and Ledin, 1997).…”

Home garden system dynamics in Southern Ethiopia

“…4). Enset leaves have a high protein content (Brandt et al 1997;Tsegaye and Struik 2001;Solomon et al 2008) and a feeding value that is comparable to a good quality grass (Fekadu and Ledin 1997). Similarly, Kandari et al (2014) reported a decline in per capita herd size following complete replacement of major fodder crops by khat in Harar region of eastern Ethiopia.…”

Effect of enset (Ensete ventricosum) leaf supplementation on feed intake, digestibility, nitrogen utilization and body weight gain of sheep fed untreated or urea and calcium oxide-treated wheat straw

“…In an intake trial by Fekadu (1996), lack of effect of urea treatment of enset leaf indicated that enset leaf contains enough nitrogen for optimum microbial activities. Therefore, due to high crude protein concentration of enset leaf lamina (209 g/kg DM, Nurfeta et al, in press-a) and intermediate for a mixture of leaf lamina and leaf midrib (130 g/kg DM, Fekadu and Ledin, 1997), enset leaf could be regarded as a useful protein supplement for smallholder farmers. However, there is no information on the feeding value of green enset leaf supplemented to crop residues and optimum level of supplementation.…”