Improving growth rate of Bali cattle grazing native pasture in the wet season by supplementing high quality forages
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Date
2013-05-08
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Indonesian Animal Sciences Society
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This grazing experiment aimed at assessing effects of providing high quality forage as supplements for Bali cattle grazing native pasture in the wet season. Twenty four Bali heifers with a mean live weight of 85.4±3.8 kg were allotted into four reatments. The treatments were (1) grazing only, (2) grazing + Gliricidia sepium leaf, (3) grazing + Acacia villosa leaf, and (4) grazing + Lannea grandis leaf. The heifers grazed together on a 25 ha Bothriochloa timorensis dominant pasture during the day (0700 h to 1700 h) in wet season, and supplements were provided at night. The supplements were given in accordance to achieve 30% refusal. Total intake was estimated by marker technique (Cr2O3). Live weight was recorded twice a month. Data were subjected to statistical analysis based on general linear model suited to a completely random design. The results showed that growth rate of Bali heifers grazing native pasture during wet season in Timor was low (35 g/d), and providing high quality forages as supplements at night significantly improved LWG by up 205%. Yet, the magnitude of LWG response varies according to type of forage, with the best result achieved by heifers given Gliricidia sepium leaf. Key Words: Bali Cattle, Grazing, Native Pasture, Wet Season, Supplement