Effect of Supplementing a Thnniniferous Shrub Legume on MilkYield and Composition of Dual Purpose Cattle Grazing Paspalumnotatum

Resource use efficiency and diversity in agroecosystems

Effect of Supplementing a Thnniniferous Shrub Legume on Milk Yield and Composition of Dual Purpose Cattle Grazing Paspalum

notatum

L R I I a C . B e n N A L l , T R S S I L o T l e , u R t r t N 2 , C A R L o s L R s c n N o l , M I c H R e l

KnsuzBR2, HANS-Drr,rBR Hsss3

2Swiss FerJeral Institute of Technology (ETH), Institute of Animal Science, Switzerland.

3 A g ro t, o p e Li e b efe I d- Po s ie ux R e s earch S t at ion ( A LP ), Sw it ze rl and

Low availability and poor quality of forages for livestock are major constraints faced by tropical smallholders. This is particularly relevant in regions with low-fertility soils and extended dry seasons. Shrub legumes have been suggested as promising feeds in the dry season, and CIAI has selected some accessions of species with good agro- nomic performance on low-fertility soils and under drought. Many of these species are characterised by high contents of condensed tannins (CT). Particularly one ac- cession of Calliandra calothyrsus showed auspicious potential regarding ruminal fer- mentation dynamics in vitro and was therefore tested for its suitability as supplement to grazing cattle. In a duplicated 4 x 4 Latin Square design, 8 dual purpose cows (Holstein xZebu) kept on a Paspalum notatum pasture, were supplemented with Vi- qna unguiculata, a more difficult to grow high quality herbaceous legume, and C.

calothyrsas (CIAT 22310) alone or in mixtures at proportions 1:2 and,2:1. Allowance for supplementation was set to 1kg of dry matter per 100kg of body weight. Cows were allowed to adapt for 7 days, followed by 7 days of measurement. Milk yield and composition were measured daily. Consumption of the legumes was 87 7o of the amount offered with Vigna and only 29 7o with Calliandra. The mixture with low Calliandra proportion did not differ in consumption from theVigna-only supplement, while that with the high Calliandra proportion was intermediate with 59 7o of the amount offered (P < 0.05). Milk yield linearly decreased with increasing proportion of Calliandra in the supplement. Accordingly, milk yield was highesr (P < 0.001) with Vigna-only (5.3 kg d-l ), and declined to 4.7 , 4.4 and,3.6 kg d-1 with incr-easing Calliandra level. There were no treatment effects on contents of fat, solids-non-fat and total solids. Milk urea N declined (P < 0.05) with increasing Calliandra pro- portion from 6.3 to 3.7 mgdl-l as expected from the protein-binding properties of the Calliandra CT. In conclusion, C. calothyrsus had a low suitability as sole protein sup- plement, but it may be added at low proportions if availability of Vigna is limited.

When supplemented, a major limitation seems to be the low palatability apart from the high CT content.

Keywords: Calliandra, legumes, milk production, supplementation, tannins

Contact Address: Hans-Dieter Hess, Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux Research Station (ALp), Route de la Tioleyre 4, CH-I725 Posieux, Switzerland, e-mail: dieter.hess@alp.admin.ch

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