SUPPLEMENTATION WITH GLIRICIDIA-SEPIUM AND LEUCAENA-LEUCOCEPHALA ON VOLUNTARY FOOD-INTAKE, DIGESTIBILITY, RUMEN FERMENTATION AND LIVE WEIGHT OF CROSSBRED STEERS OFFERED ZEA-MAYS STOVER

Twenty intact and five fistulated crossbred steers were used in two ex periments to examine the effect of supplementing maize stover with Gli ricidia sepium or Leucaena leucocephala forage on intake, rumen fermen tation, microbial protein supply and live weight changes. The basal di et plus 1 kg maize bran was offered alone or supplemented with 7.5, 15 , 22.5 or 30 g DM/kg W-0.75 of gliricidia (experiment 1), and with eit her 15 or 30 g DM/kg W-0.75 of gliricidia or leucaena forage (experime nt 2). Supplementation increased total dry matter intake (TDMI) (P < 0 .001). DMI of stover was depressed (P < 0.001) in experiment 1 from 2. 1 to 1.3 kg/day, but increased at the lower levels of supplementation in experiment 2. Diet digestibility was only significantly increased i n experiment 2. Supplementation increased the rumen ammonia from 53 to 106 mg/l and from 31 to 111 mg/l in experiment 1 and 2 respectively, and tended to improve the degradation characteristics of the basal die t. The efficiency of microbial N supply ranged between 21.0 and 27.7 g N/kg DOMR. The live weight gains from supplementation were greater, a nd the responses to gliricidia and leucaena did not differ significant ly. It is concluded that the supplementation improved dry matter intak e and live-weight gains, and that Gliricidia sepium could be an altern ative supplement to Leucaena leucocephala. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B .V.