The development of tropical pastures for the Swaziland Middelveld

Abstract

Livestock production in the Swaziland Middleveld is limited by inadequate sources of good quality forage. Experiments were carried out to determine whether tropical pastures could help overcome the feed problem. Numerous species were screened in a nursery and trials were conducted with promising lines to determine their nutrient requirements and to test their performance under grazing. Mixtures of grasses and Desmodium spp. were found to be useful for summer grazing, winter foggage, and silage. These pastures had relatively low fertiliser requirements and could be particularly valuable in the development of Swazi peasant cattle farming.

Keywords: nutrient requirements|foggage|forage quality|cattle farming|silages|summer grazed|grazing|Middleveld|fertilisation|pastures|nurseries|livestock|development|production|forages|grasses