Poster |
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Selection
for Quality Fodder in North Vietnam
Nguyen Thi Mui, Nguyen Phuc Tien, Nguyen
Van Quang, Le Due Loi
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The lack of quality fodder throughout the year and especially during the dry season is the major limiting factor for livestock production in North Vietnam. Growth of fodder during winter time slows down resulting to limited supply of fodder and nutritional imbalance for animals. Bavi district has a monsoon tropic type of climate with wet season between months of April and November and dry during months of December to March. The soil is of low fertility and organic matter has been reduced to very low levels due to the consistent land degradation. The cultivation of grasses was given priority by research institutions and state farms in North Vietnam to suffice the feed requirement for livestock. Many grasses have been studied and some are assessed to be productive and promising. A number of non-winter dormant and moderately winter dormant Leucaena varieties, oats and clover from North Pakistan which may perform well in North Vietnam were identified and used in the study. This paper presents the initial results of the trial of 16 varieties introduced to North Vietnam from December, 1999 to 2000. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study is to identify quality fodder that has high productivity and nutritive value, prolific and could withstand cold temperature. MATERIALS AND METHODS The trial was conducted at Bavi district, Hatay province and Bavan Farm, Thainguyen province, 60 km north-west of Hanoi. The area in Bavi district is located in the buffer zone between the mountainous area and the delta, 105° 25 E longitude and 21 ° 06 N latitude and 220 m above sea level. The soil has a pH of 5.0, 0.16% K2O, and 11% P2O5. The soil in Bavan Farm were fertile with pH of 5.5, K2O 0.23%, P2O5 0.27%. The 16 provenances used in the study were as follows:
Randomized complete block design with 3 replicates was used. Each plot measuring 30 m3 has 4 rows with 50 cm distance between rows. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 1. Growth rate 2. Plant density and DM production Analysis of variance of the yield of the edible biomass showed that if plant spacing is reduced, yield per plant decreases due to competition, but an increase in the total forage yield per unit was observed. A suitable density per m2 could be 300 plants/m2 for Avenna sativa group and 200 plants/m2 for Medicago sativa group under Bavi farm conditions. A very low edible biomass was exhibited by Medicago sativa group. There was no regrowth for Avenna sativa group planted at Bavan farm site and no harvest for other varieties introduced. 3. Feeding value 4. Seed production Nine varieties had flower formation. Seed production was relatively high for Sorghum sudanensis (1.58 tones/ha) and very low for Avenna sativa group. The germination rate of the seeds harvested at Bavi farm has been tested and found Sorghum sudanensis having good quality. CONCLUSION Avenna sativa Pd2LV65 and Avenna sativa Swarm have the highest edible biomass yield and can grow well at its first cutting. The slight difference in the edible biomass yield between Avenna sativa varieties is due to the very low seed density during the sowing period. Other fodder like Vida dasycarpa started to flower after three months from planting, the Medigo sativa group can be harvested at 5 months old. All the varieties gave one cutting per year and there was no yield from the regrowth . Seed production is low for all varieties except for Sorghum sudanensis, though the quality of seed is not good due to lack of fertilizer, poor harvesting method and improper planting time. RECOMMENDATION Avenna Sativa Pd2LV65, Avenna sativa Swarm, Avenna sativa Scot and Avenna sativa Ogle were the most promising varieties for the winter fodder improvement in North Vietnam. However, seed production and seed quality should be further explored to produce quality seeds suitable to local climatic conditions. |