Abstract 35

Alexandre,-G; Xande,-A; Despois,-P; Fleury,-J; Renard,-D

INRA, Centre Antilles-Guyane, Station de Recherches Zootechniques, 97184 Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Paturages et alimentation des ruminants en zone tropicale humide. 1989, 411-424; 19 ref., presented at 1st symposium on ruminant nutrition in tropical conditions, Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, 2-6 June 1987. Paris, France; INRA.

In field trials in the humid region of Guadeloupe in 1981, 20 creole goats were kept in open pens and fed Panicum maximum cv. Likoni A15 cut at 35 days, ad lib., and Stylosanthes guianensis cut at 56 days at 1 kg FW/day with concentrates. The goats ingested 272 g S. guianensis DM and 141-398 g P. maximum DM/day. S. guianensis had a high leaf proportion and high nutritive value, with 61.1% OM digestibility. In a second trial in 1986-87, goats were rotationally grazed on Macroptilium atropurpureum/Digitaria decumbens pasture or D. decumbens alone with 7 days on each plot. There was little difference in liveweight gain of light goats (9 kg) between the pastures. Liveweight gains were greater for heavy goats (13 kg), with significantly higher gains on the mixed sward (76.2 g/day) than on D. decumbens alone (59.2 g/day). D. decumbens pasture gave good cover and quality, but the mixtures were patchy due to poor legume establishment and weed invasion.