Comparative studies on the yield and chemical composition of Panicum maximum and Andropogon gayanus as influenced by Tephrosia candida and Leucaena leucocephala

摘要

ThisexperimentwassetuptocomparetheeffectofTephrosiacandidaandLeucaenaleucocephalaontheforageimprovementofPanicummaximumandAndropogongayanus.Boththebrowsetreesandthegrasseswerepurposelyinterplantedtoassesstheeffectsoftheformeronthelatter.Harvestingofthegrasseswascarriedouteverysixweekstodeterminetheannualyield.nbsp;Harvestedgrasseswereanalyzedfordrymatter(DM),crudeprotein(CP),neutraldetergentfibre(NDF),aciddetergentfibre(ADF),lignin,cellulose,hemicelluloseandetherextract(EE).nbsp;Theeffectsofbrowsetreeswerepositiveontheyieldofgrasses,asthegrassplotswithoutthetreeswerelowestindrymatteryield.nbsp;LeucaenaleucocephalapermittedarelativelyhigherbiomassofPanicummaximumthanthoseplantedwithTephrosiacandida.AndropogongayanusbehaveddifferentlyasTephrosiacandidafavoureditsforageyieldthanasobservedforLeucaenaleucocephala.nbsp;Effectsofbrowsetreesonnutrientcompositionofthetwograsseswerenotobvious.Crudeprotein(9.4%)contentofPanicummaximumwashigherthanthatrecorded(6.7%)forAndropogongayanus.Neutraldetergentfibre,aciddetergentfibreandligninweremoderateforthetwograsses.nbsp;ThestudyindicatedthatTephrosiacandidaandLeucaenaleucocephalaimprovedtheyieldofPanicummaximumandAndropogongayanuswhencomparedtothegrasseswithouttreeinterplanting.Boththetreesandgrassescanbeusedstrategicallyforthemanagementsandproductionofruminants.