• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.1107-1111
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• 2004

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential nutritive value of five legume forages (leaves and twigs) in West Sumatra during wet and dry seasons. The chemical composition, in vitro dry matter (IVDMD), organic matter (IVOMD) and crude protein digestibility (IVCPD), in vitro gas characteristics and estimated metabolizable energy (ME) showed variation among legume forages and between different seasons. Crude protein (CP) ranged from 14.2 to 27.8% DM in the wet season, with a significant (p<0.05) reduction in dry season. C. pubescens, G. maculata, L. leucocephala and P. phaseloides showed the least reduction in CP content. The NDF, ADF and lignin were about 39.0, 26.5 and 6.1% DM, respectively in the wet season, and significantly (p<0.05) increased in the dry season, except for NDF of C. mucunoides and C. pubescens. For IVDMD, IVOMD and IVCPD significantly increased in the wet season, but values remained as high as over 50.0% of DM. The in vitro gas characteristics and metabolizable energy were significantly (p<0.05) higher in wet season than the dry season. During both seasons, the rate of constant (c) for G. maculata and ME content for C. pubescens and P. phaseloides were not significantly (p<0.05). Results demonstrated that P. phaseloides and L. leucocephala have a good nutritive value during both wet and dry seasons. Further studies on feeding trials are needed to quantify the animal responses when offered these legume forages.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2016

In order to provide recommendations on the most useful forage species to smallholder farmers, eleven grass and eleven legume forages grown in Abomey-Calavi in Republic of Benin were investigated for nutritive value (i.e. chemical composition and energy content) and fermentation characteristics (i.e. gas and volatile fatty acid production, organic matter degradability). The in vitro gas production technique was used, incubating the forages for 120 h under anaerobic condition with buffalo rumen fluid. Compared to legume, tropical grass forages showed lower energy (8.07 vs 10.57 MJ/kg dry matter [DM]) and crude protein level (16.10% vs 19.91% DM) and higher cell wall content (neutral detergent fiber: 63.8% vs 40.45% DM), respectively. In grass forages, the chemical composition showed a quite high crude protein content; the in vitro degradability was slightly lower than the range of tropical pasture. The woody legumes were richer in protein and energy and lower in structural carbohydrates than herbaceous plants, however, their in vitro results are influenced by the presence of complex compounds (i.e. tannins). Significant correlations were found between chemical composition and in vitro fermentation characteristics. The in vitro gas production method appears to be a suitable technique for the evaluation of the nutritive value of forages in developing countries.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.321-325
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• 2001

Two experiments were conducted to examine the degradation rates of 4 tropical legume forages in rumen and intestine of Kedah-Kelantan (KK) cattle. Three KK cattle, averaging $173{\pm}17.15kg$ each fitted with a permanent ruminal and a T-shaped duodenal cannulae were used. The cattle were fed a maintenance diet (1% DM of their body weight) composing of 60% oil palm frond (OPF) pellet and 40% of a legume mixture of Arachis pintoi (AP) and Leucaena throughout the study. The overall DM and CP degradabilities in the rumen for Gliricidia sepium (GS) and AP were significantly higher than those for Leucaena leucocephala-Bahru (LB) and Leucaena leucocephala-Rendang (LR). This implies that LB and LR would have higher dietary protein flows into the intestine for the more efficient enzymatic digestion. However, the results of the present study suggested only limited proportions of the ruminal undegraded protein in the Leucaenas were digested in the intestine.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1518-1523
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• 2004

This study was conducted to evaluate nutritive value of forages commonly used as ruminant feeds in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Seven species of grasses and five species of legumes were collected during the rainy season. The results showed that chemical composition, in vitro digestibility of dry matter (DMD), organic matter (OMD) and crude protein (CPD), in vitro gas production and metabolizable energy (ME) content greatly varied among the species of grass and legume forages. The CP content ranged from 6.6 to 16.2% in grass and from 17.5 to 29.1% in legumes; while NDF content of grass and legume ranged from 57.2 to 66.2% and from 24.4 to 55.6%, respectively. The DMD, OMD and CPD of grass ranged from 49.1 to 62.2%, 51.9 to 64.4% and 50.5 to 60.3%; while in legumes the values ranged from 59.1 to 71.8%, 65.2 to 72.0% and 68.2 to 71.6%, respectively. The ME content of grass varied from 6.4 to 9.3 MJ/kg and from 6.5 to 8.3 MJ/kg for legumes. In general, within species of grass Cynodon plectostachyus contained higher CP but was lower in NDF that resulted in much higher digestibility; a similar result was also found in Leucaena leucocephala for the legumes. The two forages also contained much higher ME than the others. In conclusion, the nutritive value of forages in North Sumatra, Indonesia during the rainy season was relatively high as ruminant feed, with the best quality noted for Cynodon plectostachyus and Leucaena leucocephala.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.191-195
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• 1993

The application of fertilizer P to Desmodium intortum at 40, 60 and 100 kg/ha resulted in the P content of the legume regrowth being 0.10, 0.13 and 0.16% on a dry matter basis. When the forages were fed alone to sheep in metabolism pens the corresponding voluntary intakes by sheep of the three forages were 27.3, 42.7 and $54.3g/W_{kg}{^{0.75}}$, respectively. Provision of additional P by rapid infusion into the rumen each morning before any fresh food was offered depressed the voluntary intake of all three feeds. It is suggested that the adverse effect of supplementary P was probably caused by an induced deficiency of either Ca or Mg and led to a reduction in microbial activity in the rumen.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.825-831
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to determine the nutritive value of some legume species in salt-affected soils of South-East Anatolian region using chemical composition and in vitro gas production kinetics. In this study, Lotus corniculatus, Trifolium alexandrinum, Medicago sativa were sown and tested in four different locations. A 3 by 4 factorial design with 3 legume species and 4 salt levels (non salty electrical conductivity (EC)<4 dS/m; low salt: 4 dS/m>EC<8 dS/m, medium saline: 8 dS/m>EC<16 dS/m and high salt: 16 dS/m>EC) was used in the study. Results indicated that salinity and plants had no significant effect on ash and ether extract. Dry matter (DM), acid detergent fiber, digestible dry matter, dry matter intake (DMI) were affected by plant, salinity and plant${\times}$salinity interaction. On the other hand neutral detergent fiber, relative feed value (RFV), and DMI were affected by salinity and plant${\times}$salinity interaction. Mineral contents were affected by plant species, salinity and salinity${\times}$plants interactions. In vitro gas production, their kinetics and estimated parameters such as were not affected by salinity whereas the gas production up to 48 h, organic matter digestibility, metabolizable energy (ME), and net energy lactation ($NE_L$) were affected by plant and plant${\times}$salt interaction. Generally RFVs of all species ranged from 120 to 210 and were quite satisfactory in salty conditions. Current results show that the feed value of Medicago sativa is higher compared to Lotus corniculatus and Trifolium alexandrinum.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.176-182
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• 2021

Ensiling is the most preferred technology to preserve the silage quality with high nutrients by the presence of lactic acid bacteria. In this study, lactic acid bacteria RJ1 and S22 were used to make the silages from different leguminous plants such as alfalfa, hairy vetch and red clover. Experimental groups were divided into control and LAB inoculated groups. LAB inoculated group; all legumes treated with a mixture of RJ1 and S22 and made an anaerobic condition for 45d. Without the addition of LAB considered the control group. The results showed that the lactic acid content was higher in all silages in response to LAB treatment and acetic acid content was slightly increased except red clover by LAB compared to control silages. A poor silage quality marker butyric acid was reduced all legume silages in response to LAB inoculation than control silages. The organic acid is closely associated with microbial population experimental silages. We noted that higher LAB and lower yeast were found in the silage in response to LAB treatment. The contents of crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and total digestible nutrient (TDN) were not altered significantly between control and LAB treated silages. Overall data suggested that the inclusion of additional LAB potentially enhance the silage quality and preserved the nutrients for long period.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.378-384
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• 1997

The ruminal solubility of copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), and zinc (Zn) in eight Philippine forages was studied. These forages were: 1) grasses: paragrass (Brachiaria mutica (Forsk.) Stapf), stargrass (Cynodon plectostachyum Pilger), and napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.); 2) creeping legumes: calopogonium or calopo (Calopogonium muconoides Desv.) and centrocema (Centrocema pubescens Benth.); 3) tree lequmes: gliricidia or kakawate (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp.), leucaena or ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit.), and sesbania or katuray (Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Poir). Nylon bags with samples were incubated for 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72h in three rumen cannulated sheep fed with timothy hay (Phleum pratense L.) at 2% body weight/d. The 0-h bags were washed with deionized water. There were species differences (p < 0.05) on the different solubilities of trace elements. At O-h incubation, the trend of solubility was Mo (54%) > Zn (43%) > Cu (38.7%) > Mn (29.5%). At 3-h incubation, all the elements except Mn had an average solubility above 50%. Combining particulate passage rate (1.9%/h) and various trace elements disappearance rates, the effective ruminal solubilization (ERS) of trace elements were computed. The ERS across species ranged from 44.6 to 89.9% for Cu, 29.9 to 84% for Mn, 66 to 95.1% for Mo, and 30.1 to 82.3% for Zn resulting to a trend of Mo > Zn > Cu > Mn.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.289-292
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• 1997

A grazing trial was carried out to determine the effects of different grass/legume pastures on forage production, legume proportion, nutritive value, and animal performance. The pasture mixtures were mainly orchardgrass (OG) + ladino clover (T1), OG + alfalfa (T2), perennial ryegrass + alfalfa (T3), and grass alone mainly OG (T4). The pastures were rotationally grazed 7 times with heifers which had an initial liveweight of about 243 kg in 1991 and 1992. The average plant height at each grazing was 32.4 cm. The annual dry matter yield ranged from 9.19 MT in T4 to 9.61 MT/ha in T3, but no significant difference among different mixture combinations was found. The proportion of ladino clover in T1 mixtures rapidly increased from 21% to 68% during the grazing season. However, the proportion of alfalfa in T2 and T3 ranged from 12% to 23%. The contents of crude protein and calcium, respectively, in the forages were highest in T1 (23.2%, 0.68%) and lowest in T4 (18.5%, 0.13%), while crude fiber content showed the opposite trends. Liveweight gain was greatest on T1 (1.073 kg) and lowest on T4 (643 kg). It was concluded that pasture mixtures containing legume (ladino clover) can increase forage nutritive value and animal performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 1996

The dry matter (DM) disappearance and ruminal solubility of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K) in eight Philippine forages were studied. The forages were: paragrass (Brachiaria mutica (Forsk.) Stapf), stargrass (Cynodon plectostachyum Pilger), napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach), clopo (Calopogonium mucconoides Desv.), centrocema (Centrocema pubescens Benth.), gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp.), leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit.) and sesbania (Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Poir. Nylon bags with samples were incubated for 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h in rumen cannulated sheep. The 0-h bags were washed with deionized water. For the 0-h samples, 20.4, 17.2, 50.7, 52.2 and 80.1% of the DM, Ca, P, Mg and K was solubilized, respectively. At 3-h incubation period, DM disappearance was 10 percentage units higher than that of 0-h incubation whereas mineral disappearance increased by 43, 21, 30 and 13% for Ca, P, Mg and K, respectively. At 72-h incubation period, greater proportion of DM, Ca, especially in P, Mg and K was solubilized with a value of 73.8, 71.5, 85.6, 91.4 and 98.2%, respectively. The average particulate passage rate obtained in the present study was 1.9%/h where as the range of disappearance rates of various mineral elements were : 0.4 to 1.2%/h for Ca, 0.1 to 1.6%/h for P, 0.7 to 2%/h for Mg and 0.1 to 2%/h for K. The effective ruminal solubilization (ERS) of the macrominerals was calculated where particulate passage rate and disappearance rate of the various elements were included in the equation. The ERS of Ca, P, Mg and K was 50.0, 72.6, 83.9 and 94.5%, respectively. Species differences (p<0.05) on the various mineral solubilities were also observed. This study shows that ruminal solubility of macrominerals in selected Philippine forages is K > Mg > P > Ca.