Cattle Production on Improved Pasture under Young Coconut Trees P.C. Paat1, S.K. Pajow1, and D.A. Kaligis2 1Installation of Agricultural Technology
Assessment and Research Kalasey, Manado, ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Beef is a marketable product in Introduction of Stenotaphrum secundatum / Arachis pintoi under coconuts as new cover crops was recommended in mature trees more than 35 years old (Kaligis et al. 1995), because the relative light transmission prediction curve (Reynolds 1988 by Wilson and Ludlow 1990) is at very low level of less than 25% for the first 8 to 15 years compared to mature coconuts at 70%. In North Sulawesi there are 90,000 ha of hybrid young coconut that is less than 20 years old. An adaptive on-farm research was undertaken to study the productivity of new improved pasture and cattle grazed under young coconuts. METHODOLOGY The study was done in Ongkau, North Sulawesi during the wet season of January to May 1996 using 4 ha planted with 150 coconut trees per ha. The light transmission regime was estimated at 20 % to 25% using Reynolds curve prediction (1989). Two experiments were conducted: 1) the productivity of introduced mixed pasture of S. secundatum / A. pintoi with and without fertilizer; and, 2) the productivity of cattle grazed on pasture with and without corn supplement. S. secundatum and A. pintoi were planted at 50 : 50 ratio at spacing of 25 x 25 cm. TSP and KCl were applied at the rate of 100 per 75 kg per ha respectively. The seeds were sown first with an average body weight of 210 kg started to graze rotationally controlled by tethering when pasture was 10 weeks old. Pasture productivity measured in every 4 weeks using 5 sampling plot per ha, while body weights were measured every 4 weeks using digital portable scale. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Pasture productivity Table 1 shows the forages DM yield of the pastures. Forages with fertilizer was higher in terms of DM intake than forages without fertilizer (P<0.05). S. secundatum and A. pintoi planted under coconut trees responded well to fertilizer application. Establishment of weeds was prominently observed in the unfertilized pasture while in the fertilized pasture the weed component declined continuously and the same S. secundatum and A. pintoi consistently increased. It appears that introduced S. secundatum and A. pintoi became more aggressive if fertilized. Based on yield of DM, the estimated carrying capacity of 8 weeks old pasture was 1.5 and 2.5 AU/ha/day for unfertilized and fertilized pasture, respectively. For 24 weeks old pasture, the carrying capacity was 2 and 3.3 AU/ha/day for the unfertilized and fertilized respectively. These results were lower than the recommendation made by Kaligis (1995) of 4 AU per ha/day for S. secundatum/A. pintoi pasture under mature coconuts. Cattle performance Supplementation of corn improved the average daily gain of cattle in both the unfertilized and fertilized pastures with the performance of cattle slightly higher in the fertilized pasture (Table 2). It clearly indicates that supplying the source of fermentable energy for cattle grazing in improved pasture is important. In Ongkau at times there is over supply of readily available carbohydrates from corn, cassava, and rice bran. This feedstuff should be used to improve animal productivity and economic return for cattle enterprise. Table 1. Average DM yield (kg/ha) of S. secundatum / A. pintoi pasture
*) pasture graze Table 2. Average daily gain of cattle grazed on S. secundatum / A. pintoi pasture under young coconut (g/head/day)
*) Supplement readily available carbohydrate = corn 2 kg/head/day REFERENCES
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