|
Matching Livestock Systems with Available Resources |
MEKARN Regional Conference 2007 |
Under sub-tropical conditions, most grass species do not grow well in the dry season, therefore, cattle are often short of green roughage during the winter months lasting from October through March. Farmers in Bavi and surrounding areas usually feed their cattle with Bidens bipinnata, a species of weed that is locally called “white flower grass” and that grows very well in winter as an alternative to compensate for the shortage of fresh forage during this period of the year. However, according to the authors’ understanding, there has hardly been a scientific evaluation of green yield and feed intake for this species of grass up to now. Therefore, doing experiments to evaluate scientifically the green biomass yield and feed intake of Bidens bipinnata for cattle will help to diversify forage sources for cattle. .