TY  - JOUR
T1  - Effect of Supplementing Different Levels of <I>Leucaena diversifolia</I> Leaf Meal on Milk Yield of Crossbred Dairy Cows
AU - Celestin, Myambi B. AU - Mutimura, M. 
JO  - Research Journal of Dairy Sciences
VL  - 6
IS  - 3
SP  - 19
EP  - 21
PY  - 2012
DA  - 2001/08/19
SN  - 1993-5277
DO  - rjdsci.2012.19.21
UR  - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=rjdsci.2012.19.21
KW  - Leucaena diversifolia leaf meal
KW  -supplementation
KW  -crossbred dairy cows
KW  -milk yield
KW  -basal forage
AB  - A study was carried out at Songa research station of Rwanda Agricultural Research Institute (ISAR) in the Southern Province to evaluate the effect of supplementation with 3 levels of <I>Leucaena diversifolia</I> Leaf Meal (LDLM) on milk yield of crossbred dairy cows. Sixteen Jersey x Ankole first and second lactation cows with average body weights of 312 kg and within 30 Day in Milk (DIM) were allocated to four treatments each having four cows in a completely randomized design. As a basal ration, the cows were grazed in paddocks with a mixture of natural grasses mainly <I>Hyparrhenia rufa</I>, <I>Themeda triandra</I>, <I>Panicum maximum</I>, <I>Brachiaria humidicola</I> and <I>Cynodon dactylon</I> for 8 h day<SUP>-1</SUP> and later were offered 4 kg of chopped <I>Pennisetum purpureum</I> each in the evening after milking. Treatment diets were 0.0 (T<SUB>1</SUB>), 1.48 (T<SUB>2</SUB>), 2.21 (T<SUB>3</SUB>) and 2.80 (T<SUB>4</SUB>) kg of Dry Matter (DM) of LDLM equivalent to 0, 10, 20 and 30% of LDLM, respectively. All cows received equal amounts of the dietary treatments twice a day at 07:00 and 16:00 h. Other components of supplementary rations were rice bran (1.74 kg DM) and minerals which were in form of blocks. Inclusion of LDLM in the rations of dairy cows gave a significant (p&lt;0.001) increase in milk yield. Cows on T<SUB>3</SUB> diet gave a significantly (p&lt;0.001) higher milk yield (8.44 kg/cow/day) and cows on T<SUB>1</SUB> diet gave the lowest yield (6.01 kg per cow per day). Cows on T<SUB>2</SUB> and T<SUB>4</SUB> diet had similar (p&gt;0.05) milk yield of 7.32 and 7.97 kg/cow/day, respectively. In conclusion, it is suggestive that inclusion of 30% LDLM in the ration of lactating crossbred cows was the optimal supplementation level.
ER  -