Faculty of Agriculture, Environmental Sciences and Technology[FAEST]

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Browsing Faculty of Agriculture, Environmental Sciences and Technology[FAEST] by Author "A. Mateete Bekunda"

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    Effect of legume foliage supplementary feeding to dairy cattle offered Pennisetum purpureum basal diet on feed intake and manure quality
    (Uganda Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2012) S. Katuromunda; E.N. Sabiiti; A. Mateete Bekunda
    In smallholder zero grazing dairy systems of Uganda, elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is the main basal diet offered, and is supplemented with legume forages among others. Recent observations indicate reduction in fodder yields of P. purpureum although farmers are applying cattle manure to improve soil fertility and hence increase fodder production. This study evaluated the effect of legume supplementary feeding to dairy cattle offered P. purpureum basal diet on feed intake, and the output and manuring qualityof the resultant faeces. Four diets consisting of P. purpureum fodder fed ad libitum as a control, P. purpureum + Calliandra, P. purpureum + Centrosema and P. purpureum + Desmodium were offered to cows in a 4 x 4 switchover Latin square design. Legume supplementation increased (P<0.05) the total organic and dry matter, metabolisable energy (ME) and nutrient intake, and the apparent dry matter digestibilities (ADMD) as compared with the control. Faecal excretion was increased (P<0.05) by Calliandra and Centrosema. Cows which were supplemented with Calliandra excreted (P<0.05) larger amounts of N, P and K than cows fed either Centrosema or Desmodium. Supplementation with Calliandra proved to be better option since it enhanced feed intake and the output and quality of faeces that could be recycled within the crop-livestock production systems.
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    Effect of legume foliage supplementary feeding to dairy cattle offered Pennisetum purpureum basal diet on feed intake and manure quality
    (National Agricultural Research Organisation, 2012) Sylvester Katuromunda; E.N. Sabiiti; A. Mateete Bekunda
    The growing population of dairy cows in urban and peri-urban areas coupled with improvement in feeding is generating more manure, which if properly conserved can become an input to crop/ fodder production. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the method of storing faeces excreted by cows fed on Pennisetum purpureum–legume foliage diets affects the manuring quality of the resultant manure. Four diets comprising sole Pennisetum fodder, Pennisetum + Calliandra, Pennisetum + Centrosema and Pennisetum + Desmodium were fed to cows. Faeces excreted were subjected to four methods of storage for three months as follows: Placing faeces in pits and covering with soil (T1), wrapping faeces in polythene sheets and placing them in pits (T2), placing faeces in pits and leaving the pits open (T3), and stockpiling faeces on open flat ground (T4). Composts derived from faeces subjected to T3 and T4 methods exhibited maturity. Apart from nitrogen in the compost derived from faeces of cows supplemented with Calliandra, the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium concentrations in all the composts significantly declined. Organic matter losses from composts got from T3 and T4 were significantly greater than that of T2. It was concluded that storing cow’s faeces using T3 method would be the most appropriate and low-cost management intervention for improving cattle manure nutrient conservation.