Tropentag, October 5 - 7, 2004 in Berlin "Rural Poverty Reduction through Research for Development and Transformation"

Influence of Plant Species and Conservation Method on Voluntary Intake and Digestibility of Dry Matter and Organic Matter of Ruzi Grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis) and Streblus Leaf (Streblus Asper Lour) in Goat under the Humid Tropical Clima

¹Rajamangala Institute of Technology (RIT), Nakhonsithammarat Campus, Thailand
²Chiang Mai University, Department of Animal Science, Thailand
³Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Institute for Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, Germany

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of plant species and conservation method on voluntary intake of dry matter and organic matter in goats. Four male goats weighing 33.75 +7- 4.11 kg were used. Two Plant species, Ruzi grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis) and Streblus leaves (Streblus asper Lour) sundried or ensiled with 5 % cane molasses were used as the four feeds. The animals received the 4 different feed types in sequence in 4 periods in a 4×4 Latin square design. Each period lasted for 14 days with 9 days adaptation and 5 days for data collection. The animals were fed ad libitum. The feed offered and refused was recorded daily. Feed samples and the animal's dung were collected daily during the collection period and analysed for dry matter and organic matter content. The voluntary intake of the ensiled streblus leaves expressed either on dry matter (P<0.01), percentage body weight (P<0.01) and metabolic body weight (P<0.01) basis was highest. The goats fed on ensiled Ruzi grass had the lowest voluntary feed intake (P<0.01) on all parameters assessed. The trend in organic matter intake was similar to that of dry matter intake. Ensiled streblus leaves had the highest organic matter intake (P<0.01) whereas ensiled Ruzi grass had the lowest (P<0.01). The digestibility of both dry matter and organic matter were not significantly different across treatments (P>0.05). However, the D-value of feed was significant different across treatments (P<0.01). Dry Ruzi grass had the highest D-value (P<0.01). This research implies that the proper method for conservation of feed resources used for ruminant animal feeding is crucial.

Keywords: Conservation method, dry matter digestibility, organic matter digestibility, Ruzi grass, Streblus leaf, voluntary intake

Contact Address: O. Insung, Rajamangala Institute of Technology (RIT), Nakhonsithammarat Campus, Thungsong, 80110 Nakhonsithammarat, Thailand, e-mail: ongargelycos.com