The utilization of alfalfa that planted at Tobasa highland, North Sumatra for growing Boerka goat feed

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a herbaceus legume which is potential to be used as goat feed for it’s high production and nutritive value. This research was aimed to study the adaptation of alfalfa planted at highland-moderate climate and it’s utilization for goat feed. This research concists of two activities, ie 1) Agronomy of alfalfa that adapted to highland as a goat feed resource, and 2) The alfalfa usage technology as goat feed. On the first activity alfalfa was planted on highland-moderate climate Gurgur, Tobasa District, North Sumatra Province. Data was collected included: growth percentage, morphology and production aspects, and nutritive value. The harvesting was conducted for three times, where the first cutting had done at 100 days after planting. Investigation of morphology characterirtics was done before alfalfa harvesting. The utilization of alfalfa as goat feed was carried out on the second activity which was arranged in a completely randomized design. Twenty male Boer x Kacang crossbred  (Boerka) goats of 5-6 months of age with average body weight 14.2±0.8 kg were randomly assigned to four feed treatments where each treatment consited of five replications. The four feed treatments were: P1 = 100% grass + 0% alfalfa; P2 = 90% grass + 10% alfalfa, P3 = 80% grass + 20% alfalfa, and P4 = 70% grass + 30% alfalfa. Data observation included dry matter intake, average daily gain, feed efficiency, and income over feed cost. Results showed that alfalfa growth percentage was 65% with good growth and high either production or nutritive value. The average shoot dry matter production was 438.6 g/m2 which was equivalent to 26.3 t/ha/yr. The crude protein content of alfalfa on the first, second and third harvesting were 17.93; 21.89 and 17.73 per cent, respectively. The utilization of alfalfa that had been processed to be crude-meal can be applied as goat feed. Supplementation of 70% grass and 30% alfalfa meal showed the best results: ADG 59.17 g/d, feed efficiency 0.14, and IOFC Rp 736/h/d. Key Words: Alfalfa, Herbage, Production, Meal, Feed, Goa

Biomassa Tanaman Jagung sebagai Pakan Basal Kambing Boerka Sedang Tumbuh

Biomassa tanaman jagung (seluruh bagian tanaman jagung termasuk batang, daun dan buah jagung muda) yang dipanen pada umur tanaman 45–65 hari memiliki potensi untuk digunakan sebagai pakan kambing. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mempelajari pengaruh penggunaan biomassa tanaman jagung sebagai pakan basal terhadap pertumbuhan kambing Boerka. Digunakan 24 ekor kambing jantan Boerka fase pertumbuhan (rataan bobot badan awal 14,96 kg ± 1,48) untuk mempelajari pengaruh pemanfaatan biomassa tanaman jagung sebagai pakan dasar terhadap pertumbuhannya. Rancangan yang digunakan adalah rancangan acak lengkap yang terdiri atas 4 perlakuan pakan dan 6 ulangan. Ternak secara acak dialokasikan ke dalam perlakuan pakan yaitu R0, konsentrat 40% + rumput 60%; R1, konsentrat 40% + rumput 40% + biomassa tanaman jagung 20%; R2, konsentrat 40% + biomassa tanaman jagung 40% + rumput 20% dan R3, konsentrat 40% + biomassa tanaman jagung 60%. Semua perlakuan pakan memiliki kandungan protein kasar 12% dan DE 2.800 Kkal/kg. Pemberian pakan dilakukan selama 12 minggu sebanyak 3,8% dari bobot badan berdasarkan bahan kering. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa berdasarkan konsumsi bahan kering pakan, kecernaan bahan kering, bahan organik, NDF dan ADF, pertambahan bobot hidup dan efisiensi penggunaan pakan tidak nyata (P>0,05) dipengaruhi oleh perlakuan pakan. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian disimpulkan bahwa biomassa tanaman jagung dapat menggantikan komponen rumput sebagai pakan basal hingga 100% pada kambing Boerka sedang tumbuh

Nutritional Support for Small Ruminant Development Based on Oil Palm By-products

Biomass by-products or plant residues from the plantation system would play a crucial role in animal production since the utilization of forages from the underneath tree crops would be less or minimal when the palm oil crop mature. By-products generated from the palm oil system vary, but in relation to the animal production they could be generally categorized into the fibrous by-products and the non-fibrous (concentrate) by-products. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) and palm kernel cake (PKC) are concentrate by-products produced during the processing of palm oil extraction which have great potency to support sheep and goat production, although limiting factors such as contamination of shell and high copper level in PKC need to be considered in their utilization as feed. The fibrous palm oil by-products include oil palm fronds (OPF) and oil palm trunk (OPT) generated from the palm crop trees and oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) and palm pressed fiber (PPF) generated from processing of fresh fruits to yield crude oil. These fibrous by-products cannot meet the metabolisable energy required for high growth rate and for lactation of sheep and goats due to low DM digestibility, low crude protein content, low fermentable carbohydrate and low level of intake. Limited inclusion level in ration should be applied for those by-products to yield an acceptable production level of sheep and goats. Pretreatments (physical, chemical, and biological) gave some improvement in their nutritional qualities, however additional cost of pretreatments need to be considered. In the future, there would be a great challenge for the utilization of those fibrous by-products as animal feed since bioconversion of lignocellulosic materials to products such as chemicals (bioethanol, sugar, and bioplastic), fuels, and organic fertilizers are receiving greater interest. Some comparative advantages of these natural wastes are their relatively low cost, renewable and widespread in nature for used in an industrial operation

The Potency and Utilization of Cassava and Sweet Potato Leaves as Feed Resources for Small Ruminant

Cassava and sweet potato leaves are agricultural byproducts which are potential to be utilized as feed for small ruminants. In year 2009, it is assumed that dry matter productions of cassava and sweet potato leaves are 2,590,929 and 348,008 tons, respectively. Cassava and sweet potato leaves, both contain high level of protein ( 20%) so that they are good protein sources for goats. Cassava leaves, however, contain cyanide acid (HCN) that varied depended on the age and require wilting process before fed to goat. Several experiments on utilization of cassava or sweet potato leaves for small ruminants showed positive responses on animal performance and could replace 50% of concentrate feed. Besides, cassava leaves can reduce worm eggs while sweet potato leaves contain high lutein. At present, the development of cassava and sweet potato is expected to provide feed as byproduct for ruminant. Key words: Cassava, sweet potato, feed resource, ruminan

Production and nitrogen uptake of grasses on different shading and fertilization

An experiment was conducted in Indonesian Research Institute for Animal Production (IRIAP) Bogor, West Java. The objective of this research was to study the production and nitrogen uptake of three short grasses species for grazing namely Paspalum notatum, Brachiaria humidicola, Stenotaphrum secundatum on different shading and fertilization. This experiment was arranged in split-split plot design. The main plot was shading level (0, 38, and 56%); sub-plot was fertilizer dosage (0, 100, and 200 kg N/ha) while sub-sub plot was grass species. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance, and continued with Duncan multiple range test (DMRT) if there were significantly different among treatments. The highest shoot production, shoot/root ratio, and crude protein content were observed on S. secundatum with 38% shading levels and 100 kg N/ha fertilizer. The higher shading level had the lower nitrogen uptake by plant, whereas the higher fertilizer dosage gave higher nitrogen uptake.     Key Words: Shading, Fertilization, Production, Nitrogen Uptak

Karakteristik Morfologi, Produksi dan Nilai Nutrisi Beberapa Tanaman Pakan Lokal di Sumatera Utara

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi tanaman pakan lokal dan mempelajari karakteristik morfologi, produksi dan nilai nutrisi beberapa pakan lokal yang ada di Sumatera Utara. Penelitian dilakukan pada bulan Mei-Desember tahun 2015. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode survei yang dilakukan di empat kabupaten di Sumatera Utara. Sebanyak empat dari 11 spesies hasil survei yang ditanam di kebun percobaan Sei Putih diseleksi berdasarkan pertumbuhan, nilai nutrisi dan palatabilitasnya untuk kambing. Parameter yang diamati adalah tinggi tanaman, jumlah cabang, produksi dan nilai nutrisi. Rancangan penelitian menggunakan RAL terdiri atas empat spesies tanaman dengan lima ulangan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan tanaman pakan bunga hirang (Tithonia diversifolia) memiliki pertumbuhan terbaik dibandingkan dengan bunga putih (Clibadium surinamense L), kembang sepatu (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) dan NN (Polysciac fruticosa L Harms). Pada umur tiga bulan T. diversifolia memiliki rata-rata tinggi tanaman 157,7 cm (sementara tiga tanaman lainnya masing-masing 118; 52,1; dan 15,9 cm) dan jumlah cabang 57,6 dengan produksi segar 1.779,3 g/tanaman. Kandungan protein kasar bunga putih, bunga hirang, NN dan kembang sepatu pada panen pertama berturut-turut 25,12; 19,56; 11,54; dan 22,37% dan pada panen kedua masing-masing 18,19; 18,88; 11,20; dan 19,25%. Berdasarkan data morfologi, produksi dan kandungan protein kasar bunga putih dan bunga hirang potensial dimanfaatkan untuk pakan kambing

Efektivitas Pemberian Pelet Indigofera terhadap Pertumbuhan dan Kualitas Daging Kambing Boerka

Indigofera zollingeriana merupakan hijauan pakan ternak yang mengandung kualitas nutrisi yang baik dan juga antioksidan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui efektivitas pelet Indigofera zollingeriana terhadap pertumbuhan dan kualitas daging kambing Boerka. Ternak yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah kambing Boerka umur 10-11 bulan sebanyak 18 ekor dengan bobot badan awal rata-rata 20,47±2,79 kg. Penelitian menggunakan Rancangan Acak Kelompok (RAK) dengan tiga perlakuan yaitu: Pennisetum purpureum cv. Mott+Konsentrat (R1), R1+Pelet Indigofera 5 g/kg BB/e/h (R2), dan R1+Pelet Indigofera 10 g/kg BB/e/h (R3). Masing-masing perlakuan diulang sebanyak enam kali. Data dianalisis menggunakan Analysis of variance (ANOVA) dan dilanjutkan dengan uji jarak berganda Duncan jika terdapat perbedaan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan pemberian pelet Indigofera memberikan pengaruh yang nyata (p0,05) terhadap persentase karkas, pH, susut masak dan daya mengikat air daging kambing Boerka