Grazing trials with sheep on kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum Chiov.) foggage in the eastern Transvaal highveld

Abstract

Sheep performance and patterns of herbage utilization were determined in two grazing trials involving different amounts and quality of kikuyu foggage. In both trials each paddock of a series of paddocks of each foggage type was grazed successively. Amounts of leaf and stem, and the digestible organic matter and crude protein contents of these components, were determined at the start and end of grazing in each paddock. In open trial, wether lambs maintained livemass whereas, in the other, dry ewes and wether lams both lost 8- 10% of their initial mass, irrespective of differences in foggage quality. Grazing capacity was proportional to the yield of foggage. Although the percentage leaf in the foggage in the different treatments varied from 72 to 89, only some 50% of the total herbage was utilized. The estimates of quality indicated that a higher level of utilization would have resulted in poorer sheep performance.

Keywords: botany; crude protein; crude protein content; foggage; grazing; grazing capacity; herbage; kikuyu; leaves; organic matter; pennisetum clandestinum; performance; quality; sheep; south africa; utilization; yield

African Journal of Range & Forage Science, Vol. 10(1), pp. 66-71