Kajian Pengembangan dan Pemanfaatan Tanaman Pakan Leguminosa Mendukung Peningkatan Produksi Ternak Sapi di Nusa Tenggara Timur

Leguminosa mempunyai berbagai macam manfaat, diantaranya untuk menyuburkan tanah dan sumber pakan ternak. Sebagai pakan ternak leguminosa mempunyai kualitas tinggi dan tersedia sepanjang tahun. Oleh karena itu, pengembangannya sebagai tanaman pakan sangat diperlukan. Tujuan penulisan ini adalah untuk melihat perkembangan pemanfaatan TPT sebagai sumber pakan sapi. Kajian pengembangan dan pemanfaatan tanaman pakan leguminosa di Nusa Tenggara Timur telah dilakukan di tingkat petani dari tahun 2006-2017 bagi leguminosa herba dan dari tahun 2012-2016 bagi leguminosa pohon Leucaena leucocephala cv Tarramba, dengan melibatkan berbagai stakeholder. Tulisan ini me-review berbagai capaian penting yang telah dipublikasikan dan yang masih dicatat saat ini dengan cara on farm record keeping, dijelaskan dan dibahas secara deskriptif

Herbaceous Tropical Legume Integration into Small-Holder Crop-Livestock Systems in Eastern Indonesia: Results of 10-Years of Multi-Disciplinary Systems Research

Integration a forage legume into crop-livestock systems of Eastern Indonesia was tested to establish the capacity to improve nitrogen supply and yields of staple cereal crops (maize and rice) and allow for intensification of beef production to ultimately increase farm income and alleviate rural poverty in the region. Species evaluation sites across a diversity of environments showed Clitoria ternatea (butterfly pea) to be the most resilient and adaptable forage legume for use in association with cropping systems. Crop rotation experiments demonstrated that legumes grown in rotation with maize or rice can increase grain yields by 50% where legume was cut and removed, and by 90% where legume biomass was retained – the legume providing the equivalent of 100-150 kg of urea fertiliser. Forage establishment and cutting management were shown to be critical to maximising legume productivity but labour inputs required are important constraints. Lower-labour options can be used effectively without dramatically compromising productivity. Providing legumes as supplements to cattle have been shown to have significant benefits for livestock productivity in various production systems; preventing liveweight losses of reproductive cows during the dry season, doubling calf growth rates and halving calf mortality, and increasing growth rates of growing cattle by 0.3-0.5 kg LW/d. Whole-farm bioeconomic modelling and participatory on-farm evaluation has found that livestock-oriented farmers with available land resources will benefit most from forage legumes with potential increases of farm income of up to 30%. Local seed production is critical for ongoing use of herbaceous forage legumes, and our research has refined locally relevant recommendations for agronomy for seed production methods and processing. Our research has confirmed that herbaceous forage legumes can be integrated into cropping systems to improve crop yields, livestock production and livelihoods of small-holder farmers in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia