Getting to Know Animal Feed Plants with High Nutrients

The cattle population in the Bangka Belitung Islands is increasing 6-7% every year. Most of them are cultivated by small farmers who are part-time farming businesses with ownership of 2-4 tails. The orientation of raising cattle is generally as a savings account that can be sold at any time if there is an urgent need for money. Animal feed generally comes from weeds cut along the banks of rivers, forests, and rice fields. With such a pattern of raising livestock, it will affect the low productivity of livestock, as well as low income from livestock farming. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce technology, one of which is the types of animal feed plants of good quality.

It is estimated that in the world there are about 10,000 species of grass. Of the many, the range of biomass produced is very diverse, as is the nutritional content. Grass is a staple food for ruminants such as cattle, goats and sheep. Grass with its crude fiber content plays an important role in maintaining the health and function of the rumen. The presence of fiber in forage (cellulose and hemicellulose) is a source of energy for rumen microbes, as well as minerals and protein (especially from legumes) which are a source of N for bacteria and protein products. Therefore, the success of cattle, goat and sheep farming is highly dependent on the availability of forage feeds. To get high livestock productivity, forage is needed with sufficient quantities and good nutrition.

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Getting to Know Animal Feed Plants with High Nutrients

Forage plants can also be classified as a source of crude fiber, a source of energy, and a source of protein. Classified as sources of fiber and energy are grasses (family  Graminae ) such as natural grass, elephant grass, king grass, corn leaves, and others. And classified as protein sources are nuts (legume family) such as gamal ( glirisidae ), indigofera, turi, lamtoro, stylo, peanut leaves, and others. In the ruminant feed component, forage always gets the largest portion given, which is 60-100%. Among all these forage types, there are those that contain high nutrients, are easy to cultivate, and have high biomass. More details can be seen in the following table:

Gamal ( glirisideae)

Gamal / glirisidae, in the Bangka Belitung Islands commonly called dadap. Gamal is often used as a climbing pole as well as a shade for pepper plants because the plant is in the form of a tree. However, it is not widely known as a protein source for animal feed. The crude protein content of gamal leaves ranges from 18-24%. Gamal is not recommended to be given in large quantities, due to its low crude fiber content and can cause bloating. Gamal can be given in cattle rations up to 10% of the composition. Propagation can be done by seeds and cuttings. Gamal is easy to grow, and suitable for tropical areas.

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Indigofera  (Indigofera sp)

Indigofera belongs to the tree legume group. Currently, Indigofera sp has been used as feed for ruminants including goats. This tree legume has high productivity and good nutrient content, especially high protein content. Akbarillah  et al  (2002) reported the nutritional value of Indigofera leaf meal were: crude protein 27.97%; crude fiber 15.25%, Ca 0.22% and P 0.18%. Furthermore, it was mentioned that as a source of protein, Indigofera sp. leaf flour contains quite high pigments such as xanthophylls and carotenoids. Indigofera is very favored by goats and cattle. Can be propagated by seed.

King grass ( Pennisetum purpureophoides)

Raja grass is a type of perennial plant that forms clumps, has good adaptability in the tropics, grows well in soil that is not too moist. King grass is a source of crude fiber, which contains 32.6%. Besides that, the crude protein is quite high, reaching 15.67%. Can be propagated using cuttings. The number of tillers on king grass is more than elephant grass, where the number of tillers ranges from 15-25 stems.

Also read: Definition of Livestock Breeding

Elephant grass ( Pennisetum purpureum)

Elephant grass  (Pennisetum purpureum)  is a tropical grass that has good adaptability to various environmental conditions and is resistant to drought and protection. The grass has high production, palatable and fast growth. Planting is done by cuttings, can be harvested at the age of 60 days after planting. Subsequent harvesting every 40 days. Plant height can reach .8 m to 4.5 m. Elephant grass is a source of crude fiber and energy. Crude fiber content is 34.2% and protein is 10.2%. In Indonesia, the fresh production of Hawaiian elephant grass reaches 277 tons/ha/year (36 tons/ha/year dry matter).

Elephant grass odot/dwarf elephant  (Pennisetum purpureum cv. Mott)

Elephant dwarf grass is one of the superior grasses originating from the Philippines where this grass has a fairly high production. In addition, it produces many tillers, has strong roots, stems that are not hard and has many leaf segments and a young leaf structure so that it is very liked by livestock. Although this grass is shorter, namely 1-1.5 m, the number of tillers is more, namely 20-30 stems/clump.

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Signal grass/ BD grass  (Brachiaria decumbens)

BD grass is good for use as a grazing grass because it is more resistant to tread, fast growth, drought resistance, tolerant of critical land, and suitable in the tropics. The content of crude fiber is 30-35%, and crude protein is 6-10%. The capacity in 1 Ha is 9-12 adult cows per year.