Having inadequate roughages in cold areas in Tanzania? Consider forage oat and barley

Proper livestock feeding is key to improving the livestock sector in sub-Saharan Africa. Limited availability of well-performing forage technologies matched with production environment and context is often a constraint to increase forage quality and quantity for livestock productivity. To contribute...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Solomon Waweru Mwendia, Beatus Nzogela, Angello Mwilawa, An Notenbaert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kassel University Press 2024-09-01
Series:Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics
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Online Access:https://www.jarts.info/index.php/jarts/article/view/2024070910495
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Summary:Proper livestock feeding is key to improving the livestock sector in sub-Saharan Africa. Limited availability of well-performing forage technologies matched with production environment and context is often a constraint to increase forage quality and quantity for livestock productivity. To contribute towards forage technologies for cold areas, we selected four promising small grain varieties and evaluated them in 2020-21. They included two (Conway, Glamis) oat varieties and two (Rihane, Kounouz) barley varieties. In two village sites in Mufindi District in the southern highlands of Tanzania, we established trials in a randomised complete block design replicated three times. While the cultivars produced similar dry matter yields (t/ha), they returned significantly different crude protein (CP%), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF%) and in vitro organic matter digestibility. Digestibility was in the order Glamis > Conway > Kounouz > Rihane, while crude protein yield (t/ha) was in the order Glamis > Kounouz > Rihane > Conway. Based on dry matter and crude protein yields and digestibility, Glamis oat would be the most preferable in the study area and other similar ecologies.
ISSN:1612-9830
2363-6033