Agronomic Traits of Trifolium Species in Different Agroecologies of Benishangul-Gumuz Region

AbstractA study was conducted to evaluate Trifolium species for their agronomic traits intwo agro-ecologies of Benishangul-Gumuz region, North Western Ethiopia. Theexperiment was carried out at Tongo, Assosa, and Kamash forage researchstations of Assosa Agricultural Research Center, which were purposively selectedto represent highland, mid and lowland agro-ecologies respectively. FiveTrifolium genotypes (T. steudeneri 9720, T. decorum 9447, T. quantinum 6301, T.tembense 7102, and T. steudeneri 9712) were evaluated in a randomized completeblock design with three replications. Plant height at forage harvesting, forage drymatter yield and leaf to stem ratio were significantly (P < 0.001) affected byenvironment (E) and G x E (G and E interaction). The highest mean forage drymatter yield was recorded at Kamash, than Assosa and Tongo. The result ofcombined analysis indicated that, genotype (G) had significant (P < 0.001) effecton forage dry matter yield and T. quantinum 6301 genotype was the best yielderamong the genotypes evaluated. Total dry matter yield was significantly different(P < 0.001) among genotypes at Tongo and Assosa. Generally, based on foragedry matter yield data, T. quantinum 6301 was well performed at Assosa andTongo than other genotypes, T. steudenary 9720 was relatively better adapted atKamash, and they are recommended as an alternative legume forage crops for therespective locations

Strategies for Goat Feeding and Management during Drought

Nowadays, climate change is becoming a serious problem threatening livestock production by affecting their environment, health, and feed sources. Many parts of the tropical countries, particularly the pastoralist area, experience extended periods of drought, leading to shortages of feed and water. During these periods, goats are incapable of meeting their nutrient requirement for maintenance and will begin to lose weight as body reserves are depleted, causing economic loss to the goats. In the extremely long dry season, animals die, with the youngest, weakest, and oldest dying first. As a result, drought management entails balancing pasture and water supply against forage and water demand. In most cases, no single strategy will suffice to address this issue. Each situation would need a different set of strategies Therefore, this chapter will come with some common options/ strategies that can be avail feed shortage during drought. Those strategies are purchase of feed from surplus location, adjustment of animal management, policy intervention, destocking, adjusting grazing strategies during drought, supplementation, maintenance feeding, reallocation of a given amount of feed in the herd, early weaning and creep feeding, lowering stocking rate, water sources and supplies, development and effective utilization of feed resources, and creation of feed banks

Üretim performansı ve apis mellifera scutellata arı ırkı tarafından gercekleştirilen çeşitli önemli davranışlar

Honey bee colonies exhibit a wide range of behavioral variations depending on genetic origin and environmental factors. Therefore, the performance evaluation of honey bee races is critical to laying a foundation for future selection and improvement in Ethiopia. Thirty colonies of Apis mellifera scutellata (A. m. scutellata) similar in resources contained in the hive were kept in improved box hives and evaluated through various behaviors (i.e. Reproductive swarming tendency, foraging activity, defensive behavior, hygienic behavior, brood population, honey production, and absconding behavior) during the active season and dearth season. In the study area, the A. m. scutellata race has a higher swarming tendency in the active season, with up to 3.42 queen caps per hive prepared per year. Defensive behavior during the active season takes an average of 25.41 seconds after disturbances and follows up to a 212.20-meter distance. But during the dearth season, the colony slightly took a long time to reach aggressiveness after disturbance (31.28 seconds) and followed the observer for a short distance (45.58 meters). The closed brood production is higher (149 units per hive) during the active season and nectar production units per hive are reduced by 50% as compared to the dearth season. The yielding performance of the race per frame ranged from 1.3 kg to 1.5 kg, and an average of 14 kg of honey per harvest. The A. m. scutellata exhibited an absconding tendency of 34.5% if there was any disruption. A. m. scutellata showed good performance in hygienic behaviors (>95%), but undesirable behaviors in defensive behavior, and swarming tendencies make it difficult to manage honey bees. However, the race has good performance in foraging and hygienic behaviors. Further, studies of the honey bee race through selection and breeding could be conducted to reduce the higher defensive and swarming tendency of A. m. scutellata to improve production performance.Bal arısı kolonileri, genetik kokene ve cevresel faktorlere bağlı olarak cok ceşitli davranış farklılıkları sergiler. Bu nedenle, bal arısı ırklarının performans değerlendirmesi, Etiyopya'da gelecekteki secim ve iyileştirme icin bir temel oluşturmak icin kritik oneme sahiptir. Kovanda bulunan kaynaklara benzer otuz Apis mellifera scutellata kolonisi geliştirilmiş kutu kovanlarda tutuldu ve aktif mevsim ve kıtlık mevsimi boyunca ceşitli davranışlarla değerlendirildi (orn; ureme, oğul eğilimi, yayılma davranışı, savunma, hijyenik davranış, yavru ve bal uretimi ve kovan terk). İnceleme alanında A. m. scutellata ırkı, aktif sezonda, kovan başına yılda 3,42 ana yuksuğu hazırlamasıyla, daha yuksek bir oğul verme eğilimine sahiptir. Aktif sezonda savunma davranışı, rahatsızlıklardan sonra ortalama 25.41 saniye suruyor ve 212.20 metrelik bir mesafeyi takip etmektedir. Ancak kıtlık mevsiminde, koloninin rahatsızlıktan sonra saldırganlığa ulaşması biraz uzun surmekte (31.28 saniye) ve gozlemciyi kısa bir mesafe (45.58 metre) takip etmektedir. Aktif sezonda kapalı kulucka uretimi daha yuksektir (kovan başına 149 unite) ve kovan başına nektar uretimi kıtlık donemine gore %50 azalmıştır. Cerceve başına verim performansı 1,3 kg ile 1,5 kg arasında değişmekte ve hasat başına ortalama 14 kg bal alınmıştır. A. m. scutellata, herhangi bir rahatsızlık olması durumunda %34.5'lik bir kacma eğilimi sergilemektedir. Bunun yanında hijyenik davranışlarda iyi performans gostermekte (>%95), ancak savunma davranışında istenmeyen davranışlar ve oğul verme eğilimleri bal arılarını yonetmeyi zorlaştırmaktadır. Bununla birlikte, ırk, yayılma ve hijyenik davranışlarda iyi bir performansa sahiptir. Ayrıca, gelecekte seleksiyon ve ıslah calışmaları ile savunma ve oğul verme eğilimi azaltılarak uretim performansını artırılabilir

Productivity and economic feasibility of cultivated forage and food crops in the central highlands of Ethiopia

The study was conducted to evaluate the yield performance of improved forage and food crops and to estimate the profitability of fodder and food crops in Holetta and Ejere areas, central highlands of Ethiopia during 2019 and 2020 cropping seasons. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications and evaluated two annual forage crops, two perennial forage crops, and two cereal food crops. Data on herbage dry matter (DM) yield was collected for forage crops while straw and grain yields were measured for food crops. Partial budget analysis was made to evaluate the economic feasibility of forage and food crops production. The result revealed that the herbage DM yield varied (P<0.05) at each location during each production year and combined over years and between the two locations. The straw and grain yields of food crops also varied (P<0.05) between the two production years and locations. The nutritive values of herbage and straw yields of forage and food crops differed (P<0.05) for all measured parameters. The crude protein and in-vitro dry matter digestibility of perennial forage crops were relatively higher than annual forage crops and straw of food crops. The partial budget analysis result indicated that the gross revenue (GR) and net return (NR) obtained from food crops were the highest followed by annual forage crops while the least was recorded from perennial forage crops during the first year of production. However, perennial forage crops produced the higher GR and NR than food crops and annual forage crops in the second year of production. In the second year of production, among the forage crops, Desho grass generated 308, 293, 287, and 232% while Rhodes grass generated 99, 92, 90, and 62% more NR than wheat, sole oat, barley, and oat/vetch mixtures, respectively. The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of perennial forage crops was the lowest (3.0 for Desho and 1.6 for Rhodes) in the first year of production but the ratio was the highest (17.2 for Desho and 8.6 for Rhodes) in the second year of production. This confirms the better economic feasibility of perennial forage crops as they can be maintained using minimal management cost once they have been established

Determinants of adoption of improved forages in selected districts of Benishangul-Gumuz, Western Ethiopia

This study explores different socio-economic and institutional factors influencing the adoption of improved forage technologies in Assosa and Bambasi districts of Benishangul-Gumuz, Western Ethiopia. A structured questionnaire survey was applied to collect information from 120 farm households, and a binary logistic regression model was used to quantify the factors determining farmers’ decisions to adopt improved forages. The analysis revealed that access to agricultural extension services, participation in forage training sessions and higher cash income had the greatest positive influence (P<0.05) on adoption of forage technologies, while higher numbers of male adult labor units and use of fertilizers had a lesser effect (P<0.10). In contrast, farmers remote from offices of development agents and possessing greater numbers of equines were less likely to adopt improved forage technologies. We suggest that adoption of improved forage technologies could be enhanced by providing farmers with training sessions, raising household income and providing greater access to extension services and that these factors should be considered by planning bodies

Effect of Nitrogen Level on Herbage and Seed Yield of Rhodes Grass (Chloris gayana)

Nitrogen is the most important macronutrient for forage and food crop production. Currently, cultivable lands in Ethiopia undergo a deficiency of this element. Thus, this study was conducted to find an appropriate rate of nitrogen (N) fertilizer for the better agronomic performance of Chloris gayana Masaba. The experiment was carried out at Assosa Agricultural Research Center. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with three replications, and the treatments were five levels of nitrogen fertilizer (0, 23, 46, 69, and 92 kg N/ha). The collected data were analyzed using the general linear model procedure of SAS, and the least significance difference was used for mean separation. Plant height at forage harvesting, dry matter yield, leaf to stem ratio, leaf height, number of leaves per plant, number of tillers, and seed yield were significantly (p0.05) by nitrogen fertilizer rate and interaction of planting year and fertilizer rate. The mean leaf to stem ratio was significantly (p<0.001) higher in 2017 and 2018 than in the 2019 planting year. However, forage dry matter yield was significantly (p<0.001) higher in 2019, followed by 2018 and 2017 planting years. Mean seed yield was significantly (p<0.001) different among the establishment years and the peak seed yield productivity attained during the third year of harvesting (1st = 2nd < 3rd year of harvesting). Generally, all measured agronomic traits were not significantly responsive to the different fertilizer rates, and in the economic point of view, 0 kg of N/ha is recommended

Does Azadirachita indica leaves, Stylosanthes fruticosa and Dolichus lablab substitute conventional concentrate mixture: Evidence from the sheep feeding trial

Conventional concentrate protein supplements are available at a very high price in developing countries, and this has led to the use of alternative sources such as forage legumes and multi-purpose tropical trees to improve the nitrogen deficiency in roughage feeds. Consequently, this study was planned to analyze the basis that Stylosanthes fruticosa (SF), Dolichus lablab (DL), and Neem tree leaves (NL) substitute the feeding value of commercial concentrate mixture (CM) for growing lambs. Twenty-eight-yearling intact male Gumuz sheep with an initial mean body weight of 19.42 ± 3.51 kg (means ± SD) were allotted through a randomized complete block design to 4 treatments and 7 replicates. Treatments were Rhodes grass hay fed ad libitum to all treatments plus 300 g CM (T1), 385 g NL (T2), 435 g SF (T3), and 355 g DL (T4). The total dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), NDF, ADF, and ADL intake of sheep supplemented with SF was higher (P < 0.01) than in other treatments. Supplementation of CM had higher (P < 0.01) crude protein digestibility than NL, SF, and DL. Body weight change and average daily gain were higher (P < 0.05) on diets based on supplementation of CM than on those based on DL and SF but did not differ from NL. The total edible offal showed a significant difference (P < 0.01) among treatments; a higher value was observed for the group supplemented with CM. Liver and total fat differed significantly (P < 0.01) among treatments. The partial budget analysis result indicates that the NL, SL, and DL supplements are more profitable than CM. Because of their biological and economic feasibility, NL, and DL can be replaced CM and be employed in feeding systems depending on their availability and relative cost

Evaluation of Maize (Zea mays L.) Genotypes for Forage Biomass Yield and Nutritional Quality

አህፅሮት &nbsp; ይህ ጥናት በሆለታ ግብርና ምርምር ማዕከል በሆለታና አዳበርጋ የመኖ ምርምር ጣቢያዎች የበቆሎ ዝርያዎች ያላቸውን የደረቅ መኖ ምርት እና የመኖ ንጥረ-ነገር ይዘታቸዉን ለመገምገም የተካሄደ ነበር፡፡ ጥናቱም በሁለት የማጨጃ ጊዜ የተካሄደ ሲሆን የመጀመሪያው በሳይሌጅ (ገፈራ) ደረጃ ሲሆን ሁለተኛው በአረንጓዴ ቆረቆንዳ (ኮብ) ደረጃ ነበር፡፡ የደረቅ መኖ ምርት፣ የዕፅዋት ቁመት እና በአንድ ተክል ላይ የሚገኙ ቆረቆንዳዎች (ኮብ) ብዛት እና የመኖ ጥራት መረጃዎች ተሰብስበዋል፡፡ በሁለቱም የማጨጃ ጊዜ በዕፅዋት ቁመት፣ በደረቅ መኖ ምርት፣ በሚፈጭ (Digestible) የደረቅ መኖ ምርት እና በፕሮቲን የደረቅ መኖ ምርት ላይ ከፍተኛ (P&lt;0.001) የሆነ ልዩነት ጥናቱ በተካሄደባቸው ሁለት ቦታዎች ላይ ታይቷል፡፡ የተቀናጀ የትንታኔ ውጤት እንደሚያመለክተው በገፈራ የማጨጃ ጊዜ ኩሌኒ ከፍተኛ የዕፅዋት ቁመት የነበረው ሲሆን ተከትሎም AMH-854 እና ጅባት ከፍተኛ (P&lt;0.05) ቁመት ነበራቸው፡፡&nbsp; በሁለቱም የማጨጃ ደረጃዎች በዝርያዎች መካከል ከፍተኛ የሆነ ልዩነት በድራይ ማተር (DM) ላይ እንደነበር የተቀናጀ የትንተና ውጤት አመልክቷል፡፡ ከADF ዉጭ ለሁሉም ንጥረ ይዘቶች በጂኖታይፖች መከከል (P&lt;0.05) ልዩነት አልነበረም፡፡ በአረንጓዴ ቆረቆንዳ (ኮብ) የማጨጃ ጊዜ ጂኖታይፖች መካከል &nbsp;ከፍተኛ (P&lt;0.01) የሆነ ልዩነት በድራይ ማተር (DM)፣ አመድ (Ash)፣ ADF እና ADL ላይ እንደነበር ያሳያል፡፡ በሁለቱም የማጨጃ ጊዜ&nbsp; በተወሰደው በደረቅ&nbsp; መኖ ምርት እና በዕፅዋት ቁመት መረጃ ላይ በመመርኮዝ ኩለኒ፣ AMH-853 እና ጅባት የበቆሎ ዝርያዎች ለጥናቱ አካባቢዎች እና ለተመሳሳይ የግብርና ስነ-ምህዳሮች እንደ አረንጓዴ መኖነት እንዲጠቀሙበት ጥናቱ ይመክራል፡፡ ነገር ግን ጠቅለል ያለ ድምዳሜ ላይ ለመድረስ በተሞከሩት ዝርያዎች ላይ የገፈራ ጥራት እና የእንስሳት ምርታማነት ላይ ተጨማሪ ሥራዎች መሰራት አለባቸው፡፡ &nbsp; Abstract &nbsp; A study was conducted to evaluate maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes for their forage dry matter yield and nutritive value at Holetta and Adaberga forage research stations of Holetta Agricultural Research Centre. Genotypes were tested in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The study was conducted in two sets; the first set consisted of genotypes harvested at the silage harvesting stage and the second set included genotypes harvested at the green cob stage. The data collected consisted of dry matter yield, plant height and number of cobs per plant and nutritional quality of the maize genotypes. All data were subjected to analysis of variance, with significance tested at P&lt;0.05. The location had a significant (P&lt;0.001) effect on plant height, dry matter yield, digestible dry matter and crude protein yield at both stages of harvest. In both stages of harvest, plant height was significantly (P&lt;0.05) affected by genotype. The result of the combined analysis showed that Kuleni had the highest plant height followed by AMH-854 and Jibat at the silage harvesting stage (P &lt; 0.05). The result of a combined analysis indicated that DM was significantly different among genotypes at both harvesting stages. Non-significant (P&lt;0.05) differences were found among the genotypes in all the nutrient contents, excluding ADF. For genotypes harvested at the green cob stage, dry matter, ash, acid detergent fiber, and acid detergent lignin were significantly (P&lt;0.01) influenced by genotype. In conclusion based on dry matter yield and plant height data taken at both harvesting stages, Kuleni, AMH-853 and Jibat maize genotypes were recommended as a green feed for the study areas and similar agro-ecologies. But, to reach exhaustive conclusions further works shall be done on the silage quality of the recommended genotypes and their effect on animal performance

Evaluation and Registration of the Newly Introduced Supersonic Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Variety in Ethiopia

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important perennial forage legume recommended for livestock feed due to its better yield and nutritional quality. So the introduced supersonic alfalfa variety was evaluated with the standard check variety (alfalfa-1086) at Holetta, DebreZeit, Kulumsa, Wondo-Genet, Werer, and Pawe locations aimed to assess forage biomass yield, chemical composition, and tolerance to major pests and diseases during the main cropping season of 2018 under supplementary irrigation. The result indicated that the introduced supersonic alfalfa variety gave a higher (P&lt;0.05) plant height and dry matter yield than the standard check variety at each location and combined across locations. Moreover, the plant height and dry matter yield of alfalfa varieties varied significantly (P&lt;0.05) across locations. The introduced supersonic alfalfa variety was consistently superior in dry matter yield than the standard check variety which implied better stability under diverse environmental conditions. However, the dry matter yield varied across locations due to the differential response of the varieties for the test locations. The introduced supersonic alfalfa variety had 12.9, 11.6, and 7.7% dry matter yield, digestible yield, and crude protein yield advantages over the standard check variety, respectively. The nutritive values of supersonic alfalfa were slightly lower in ash, crude protein, digestibility and relative feed value and higher in fiber contents than the standard check variety. Based on the overall performances, the introduced variety was verified with the same standard check variety during the main cropping season of 2020 under supplementary irrigation. Due to its better yield performance, and pest and disease reaction, the National Variety Releasing Committee approved supersonic alfalfa variety in 2021 to be cultivated in low to high altitude areas ranging from 750 to 2400 meters above sea level, which have an annual rainfall ranging from 800 to 1200 mm