Feed and nutrition
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Item Analysis of Flavour and Molecular Diversity of Kenyan Lablab Bean (Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet) Accessions(Esther Nyambura Kimani, 2010) Kimani, E.N.Lablab bean, Lablab purpureus L. Sweet (2n = 22) belongs to the family Fabaceae, that includes Medicago truncatula (barrel medic), Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean), Glycine max (soybean), Pisum sativum (garden pea) and Arachis hypogaea (peanut [groundnutD among others. It is among one of the ancient cultivated plants. It is a legume species that grows in the tropics and the subtropics of the world, and is presently grown through out the tropical regions of Asia and Africa. The bean is known by different names in different geographical areas (Table 1.1). In this study, the common name used is lablab, as it reflects the scientific name. To date, it remains a minor crop in most of these regions (Engle and Altoveris, 2000). The main lab lab producing areas in Kenya are Eastern (Meru), Central (Nyeri, Thika) and Coast (Lamu) provinces where it is grown either as a pure stand or as an intercrop specially with maize. The crop has also been introduced in other parts, such as Mwingi and Machakos. Lablab yield of 980kg/ha has been reported in a study testing the effect of improved legumes (Lelei et al., 2009). The species is cultivated either as a pure crop or intercropped with maize, finger millet, groundnut, castor, or sorghum in tropical regions.Item The Arthropod Population of the Soil Under Elephant Grass in Uganda.(1948) George, S.; Zoological Laboratory, Cambridge, and the East African Agriculture and Forestry Research Organisation, NairobiSix soil samples from elephant-grass leys at Kawanda, Uganda, gave collections representing a population of 87,147 arthropods per sq. metre in the top 12 in. of soil. Six samples from adjacent cultivated ground gave collections representing a population of 26,150 arthropods per sq. metre. These numbers are compared with the population of arthropods found in the soil of grazed pastures in East Africa. The greater population under elephant grass is attributed to the presence of a crumb structure and to the protection afforded by elephant grass against insolation. It is suggested that the nitrogen contained in these soil arthropods, especially which locked up in the chitin and sclerotin of their skeletons, is part of the nitrate that becomes available some weeks or months after elephant-grass leys are cultivated.Item Assessment of Early Calves’ Weaning Diet as Milk Replacer for Smallholder Dairy Production Systems in Kenya(Book Publisher International, 2022-03-17) Syomiti, M.; Mugo, B.; Gachuiri, C.; Wamae, D. K.Small-scale dairy farmers in Kenya are increasingly interested in selling milk to supplement their income, particularly during dry seasons when milk prices rise. This leads to low calf growth rates, high calf mortality rates, late maturation, and overall economic losses in smallholder dairy production systems. Innovative development of early calves weaning formulae as milk replacers would provide a long-term solution for calves' nutrition and household income. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance and economic efficacy of an early calves weaning formula as a milk replacer for small-holder dairy production systems. This would in turn establish the effectiveness and economic returns to replacing milk with formulated early calf weaning diets (EWDs) on the survival and general performance of dairy calves in Kenya. Milk feeding for up to 105 days (Control) and milk (28 days) + EWD, fortified or not fortified with effective microorganisms (EM), diamond-V, or Diatomite (DT), for up to 105 days were used as treatments. The treatments had no effect on the calves' average daily weight gain (P>0.05). The EM- treatment, on the other hand, had significantly (P<0.01) higher calve dry matter (DM) intake (g kg-1) than the other treatment groups. The total milk saved for the farmer as a result of EWD feeding was 9 kg-1cow-1day-1; equal to 945 kg for the 105 period, valued at US$614. Total milk saved for conventional milk feeding (control) was 5 kg-1 cow-1 day-1, equal to 525 for the 105 period, valued at US$ 341. Diarrhea was observed in significant amounts in both the control (milk) and the Diamond-V fortified treatments. In DT-fortified EWDs, signs of hair loss and discoloration were observed. Because EM fortification reduced disease incidences, EWD fortified with this microbial feed additive can be an effective milk-replacer in smallholder dairy production systems, allowing dairy calves to be weaned at 28-35 days with good economic and performance results.Item Average Nutritive Values of Kenya Feeding Stuffs for Pigs(1960/1961) Dougall, H.W.; The Grassland Research StationGlover and Dougall [1] give a Table of average estimates of the percentage of digestible crude protein (DCP) and total digestible nutrients (TON) to be expected from pig feeds ranging in crude protein (CP) content from0-30 per cent of the dry matter and in crude fibre (CF) content from 0-15 per cent of the dry matter. This Table has been used to obtain estimates of the nutritive value of feeds actually grown or processed in Kenya and analysed in this laboratory. Descriptions of the individual feeds and estimates of their nutritive value for pigs, expressed in terms of dry matter (OM), are given in the accompanying Table. The actual amount of dry matter contained in most of the succulents, two of the milk products and the sugar cane molasses is reported alongside the description of these feeds. Similarly where the oil content of a feed exceeds 10 per cent of the dry matter, the actual amount of oil contained in its dry matter is reported alongside the description of the feed, e.g. coconut meal (41.5 per cent oil). Different factors have been used to convert per cent nitrogen to per cent crude protein depending on the description of the feed. It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss in detail minerals in relation to pig rations. None the less it is important to appreciate that if the required amounts of elements such as calcium, phosphorus, chlorine, etc., cannot be obtained from the individual components of rations in amounts that are adequate for growth and development, a supplementary source must be provided. This may take the form of a mixture of finely divided agricultural lime, sodium chloride, etc., in pre-determined proportions and fed as a fixed percentage of the concentrate ration.Item Average Nutritive Values of Kenya Feeding Stuffs for Ruminants(1960/1961) Dougall, H.W.; Grassland Research StationGlover, et al. [1] give a table of average estimates of the percentage of digestible crude protein and total digestible nutrients to be expected from ruminant feeds ranging in crude protein content from 0-42 per cent and in crude fibre content from 5-45 per cent of the dry matter. It can be used for the computation of rations for dairy cows and other ruminants, according to the system of rationing recommended by Morrison [2], or Woodman [3], or according to Forbes' [4] concept of regarding rations as "wholes".Item Breeding Behaviour of Cenchrus Ciliaris in Kenya(1960/1961) Bogdan, A.Y.; Grassland Research StationIn 1955, one tuft of each variety was split, and the splits were planted in adjacent rows to facilitate cross-fertilization if this should occur naturally. To avoid incompatibility due to differences in the time of flowering, seeds were collected only from those panicles that had flowered simultaneously with the other varieties, and this precaution was observed for each generation. Seed from each row was planted in boxes in 1956, and 70 seedlings of each variety were transplanted to adjacent plots at a uniform spacing. This same process was repeated in 1957 and 1958, when 105 plants of each variety were grown. A total of 245 plants of each variety was thus examined during three generations. In all three generations, the plants of each of the six varieties were invariably uniform and true to type. This shows that our varieties do not mix even if grown closely together. They breed in the same way as those investigated by Snyder et al. and should be considered as apomicts.Item A Brief Board Of Managements Visit To National Animal Husbandry Research Centre Naivasha(Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, 2002) Kenya Agricultural Research InstituteThe National Animal Husbandry Research Centre (NAHRC) Naivasha is one of the 33 KARl centres with a national mandate to carry out research on animal production covering areas of feeding/nutrition, breeding, and management with reference to dairy cattle (Friesian), dual purpose cattle (Sahiwal) dual-purpose goats, (DPG), poultry and pigs.Item Browse plants of Kenya with special reference to those occurring in South Baringo(1958) Bogdan, A.V.; Dougall, H.W.; Department of Agriculture"It is a humbling fact for grass pasture experts to realize that probably more animals feed on shrubs and trees, or on associations in which shrubs and trees play an Important part, than on true grass or grass-legume pastures, short and tall grass ranges and steppes." This introductory sentence to "The Use and Misuse of Shrubs and Trees as Fodder" (1947) is almost certainly applicable to most semi-arid and arid parts of Kenya inhabited by pastoral trites and their livestock; it is particularly relevant to the South Baringo District, where most of the material described in this paper was collected. The southern part of the Baringo District is believed to be potential perennial grass-woodland country, but at the present time the grass cover is almost completely destroyed and the ground is exposed to such an extent that even during rainy seasons the leaves, bark and pods of trees and shrubs, together with the available herbs, provide the bulk of the diet of the ruminant and of other livestock.Item Bush Control and Deferred Grazing as Measures to Improve Pastures: Part II(1945) Staples, R. R.; Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Mpwapwa, Tanganyika TerritoryA description is given of a simple enclosure grazing experiment at Mpwapwa started at the end of 1937. The experiment was designed to obtain information on the e1Iect of the control of woody growth (shrubs and trees) on the carrying capacity and quality of pastures under Mpwapwa oonditions and the system of deferred grazing which should be encouraged in these areas. The more important results are summarizedItem A Comparison Between Russian Comfrey and Lucerne(1959) Strange, R.; Grassland Research Station, Department of Agriculture, KenyaApart from a number of other disadvantages in its use, Russian comfrey has beenshown to be inferior to lucerne in the following respects:- (i) it gives a lower dry-matter yield; (ii) its percentage of dry matter and crude protein are lower than those of lucerne; (iii) the digestibility of the crude protein is lower in comfrey than in lucerne; (iv) soil contamination of the herbage is considerably greater on comfrey than on lucerne. Russian comfrey was therefore inferior to lucerne under the conditions of this experiment except in its lower fiber content, which would favour it to some extent for feeding to pigs and poultry. The growth of the lucerne was markedly stimulated by an application of gypsum.Item Composition and Feeding Values of Green Maize, Millet, and Bulrush Millet Cut for Soiling Purposes(1946) French, M.H.; Veterinary Laboratory, Tanganyika TerritoryIn the long dry seasons of this Territory the problem of providing green succulent foods for feeding to high-producing animals, such as heavy milk-producing cows, is very important. Such green foods provide the very necessary carotene (a precursor of vitamin A) required to maintain body reserves at this time of the year when the natural herbage contains practically none. Carotene is converted by farm animals into vitamin A and the maintenance of an adequate reserve of this vitamin is necessary to ensure that high-producing animals remain in sufficiently good health to continue in production at a high rate. Shortage of this vitamin will lead to skin disorders, possible eye troubles, retard the normal growth rate and interfere with reproduction. In addition, the secretion of large volumes of milk, which contains vitamin A and carotene, causes a large drain on the liver reserves of this vitamin. Actually, when the liver reserves become low the quantity of carotene and vitamin A in the milk is curtailed and the nutritive values of the milk and butterfat are correspondingly reduced. Besides the provision of vitamin A, green foods exert a very beneficial effect on the tone of the digestive system, thereby promoting the better utilization of the dried roughage which form the bulk of the ration in the dry season.Item The Conservation of Green Fodders for the Dry-Season Feeding of Stock(1938) French, M. H.There are three main methods of fodder conservation open to natives as well as to European farmers in Tanganyika. The European settler could use any of these methods but the native still has to be educated to them. A simple system of rotational grazing properly organized and controlled is the first method which should be encouraged in native communities. This system conserves the fodder in situ without labour, but it is wasteful of valuable nutrients. Once the value of this method has been proved to a native community, haymaking should be encouraged. The third method of fodder conservation, the making of silage, will not be introduced successfully into native husbandry until the native has been educated to appreciate quality not only in his animals but in their products.Item The Depth of Planting Rhodes Grass Seed(1960/1961) Bogdan, A.V.; Grassland Research Station, KitaleThe establishment of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) under field conditions is sometimes unsatisfactory, and this has been partly ascribed to depth of planting. In order to find out if this could be so, a simple experiment was carried out in 1958.Item The Digestible Energy Content of Some East African Grasses(1967) Marshall, B.; Long, M.I.E.Digestible energy values are presented for nine grasses and hays. The experimental results are compared with results calculated by means of various published equations. One of these produces results averaging 2.5 per cent below the levels determinedItem Divergent Selection for Leaf Width, Length and Growth Rate in Two Annual Ryegrass (Lolium Multiflorum Lam.) Cultivars(Curtis Alan Meurer, 1991) Meurer, C.A.Annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is a winter annual forage of considerable importance to the southeastern United States, with limited use in the northwestern and midwestern United States. Annual ryegrass is one of eight species of Lolium and of these eight species is surpassed only by perennial ryegrass (1. perenne L.) in use (Terrell, 1968). Annual ryegrass is normally planted into a prepared seed bed or drilled into dormant warm season sod and can be grazed in as little as two months following planting (Miller , 1984; Riewe and Mondart, 1985) . Improvement of dry matter yield is one of the more important objectives in any forage breeding program (Sleper, 1977). Most plant breeders, however, have depended upon indirect selection for improving dry matter yield due in part to ease of measurement (Wilson, 1981). With annual ryegrass indirect selection is particularly important since, in measuring total seasonal yield, the seed crop is necessarily destroyed preventing any recurrent phenotypic selection. Also, due to the difficulty in creating clones of annual forages, clonal selection for yield is not practical. Indirect selection relies upon the identification of forage yield component traits. Traits which have been suggested as effective indirect selection criteria for forage yield include tillers per plant.Item The Effect of Diets and Additives on Feed Partitioning and Methane Emissions by Ruminants(Ouda J.O, 2000) Ouda, J.O, (). The Effect of Diets and Additives on Feed Partitioning and Methane Emissions by RuminantsMethane formation in the rumen represents a substantial loss of energy to the animal apart from being a major greenhouse gas emitted from agriculture. Methanogenesis is the main means of disposal of hydrogen during rumen fermentation. The formation of propionate represents an alternative route of hydrogen disposal but requires the availability of precursors. Theoretically, this can be achieved by dietary addition of propionate precursors. It has also been observed that diets influence the partitioning of products of rumen metabolism. Thus both propionate precursors and diets can be theoretically manipulated to moderate methane emission by ruminants with the net result of improved nutritive efficiency and environment conservation.Item The Effect of Seed Rate Nitrogen Fertilizer And Cutting Time on Forage Yield and Quality Of Phillipesara (Vigna Trilobata Verdc.)(1989) Mosdawi, R.S.; Ibrahim, E.A.S.; Houron, A.E.A.; United Arab Emirates University AI·AinPhillipesara (Vigna trilobata Verdc., syn. Phaseolus trilobus L.) is a useful forage legume and a rotational crop. In Sudan, phillipesara is grown as an annual summer forage crop in the irrigated agricultural schemes of the central region and Khartoum province along the Nile banks. The introduction of phillipesara to Sudan in large agricultural schemes like Gezira and Rahad met with certain constraints. These were the absence of an organized and intensive animal production system from the agricultural rotation of these schemes, and the difficulty of harvesting phillipesara seeds due to the shattering of the pods and seed loss before harvesting. In such schemes, the rearing of cattle, sheep, and goats depends primarily on nomadic grazing outside these schemes during the rainy season, and on crop residues and agro-industrial byproducts such as molasses, groundnut cake, cotton seed cake, and sorghum grain during the dry season. Recently, interest in growing irrigated phillipesara has increased due to prolonged drought and the establishment of many dairy and fattening farms in Khartoum province.Item Effects of Clipping Frequency and Intensity on Structural Characteristics of Range Grass Ecotypes in a Kenyan Dryland: Implications for Rangeland Management(2023-03-20) Kisambo, B.K.; Kirwa, E.C.; Ogillo, B.P.; Kubasu, D.O.; Musyimi, D.; Rop, D.; Kuria, S.G.; Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research OrganizationLivestock production is an important economic activity in rangeland environments. Its highly dependent on natural indigenous grasses which are also currently being cultivated and used for restoration of degraded environments. With the challenging biophysical situations in the ASALs, these grasses currently face various challenges including defoliation disturbance and precipitation variability resulting in changes in plant and vegetation structure. A field simulation experiment was used to determine the effects of clipping frequency and intensity on grass ecotypes structural features (plant cover, plant height, spread, tillering) over two growing seasons in southeastern Kenya. 4 grass ecotypes of two common species (Cenchrus ciliaris and Panicum maximum) were subjected to 3 clipping frequencies (High, moderate, low) and 3 clipping intensities (high, low, moderate). Plant responses to these treatments were monitored over two seasons. Panicum maximum TVT was the tallest grass ecotype (64.57 cm) while Cenchrus ciliaris KLF was the shortest (25.18 cm). Canopy spread did not significantly differ among the grass ecotypes (p >0.05) though C. ciliaris MGD had a larger spread (74.82 cm) compared to the other grass ecotypes. C. ciliaris MGD also had a significantly higher number of tillers (282.49) as well as ground cover (45.92%). Infrequent clipping resulted in plants that were taller, had higher canopy spread and had more tillers and enhanced ground cover while frequent and intensively clipping the grass ecotypes had detrimental effects on all the characteristics. Compared to low frequency clipping, high frequency clipping reduced plant height in general by up to 34%, canopy spread by 45%, tillers by 13% and reduced ground cover by 25%. Trends in tillering also varied depending on grass ecotype, frequency and intensity of defoliation in addition to the effects of season. High clipping frequencies and intense clipping, despite being common in rangelands should be avoided as it has demonstrated to reduce some structural features of grasses in this study which is harmful not only to the plant but to the environment in general. This information is relevant to design appropriate utilization strategies and develop varieties that are key to specific semi-arid environments and management objectives.Item Effects of defoliation frequency and intensity on production of four burned and unburned bushed grassland communities in south Central Kenya.(Texas University, 1985) Too, D.K.Effects of defoliation frequency and intensity on production of burned and unburned plant communities were studied in Kenya on the National Range Research Station, Kiboko in 1982-1983. Study sites were located in ecological zone V which showed some contrast in topography, soils and dominant grasses. Two replications of four plant communities, dominated by combinations of five grasses were included within eight enclosures’.Item Effects of defoliation on vegetation growth in a semi-arid area of Kenya I.—Annual dry Matter production(1986) Said, A.N.; Potter, H. L.; Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARl), Kikuyu, Kenya.Only 15 percent of the land area of Kenya receives more than 750 mm of rainfall in at least four years out of five (Griffiths, 1962). In the rest of the country, a system of nomadic pastoralism has developed as a strategy to provide for security of food supply (FAO, 1960, Henning, 1960 and Allan, 1965). Settled crop production is largely precluded in the semi-arid and arid areas due to the high risk of crop failure associated with the low annual rainfall total and a highly variable distribution pattern.
