Dataset Information

Evaluating the effects of storage conditions on dry matter loss and nutritional quality of grain legume fodders in West Africa.

ABSTRACT: Feed scarcity is a major challenge for livestock production in West Africa, especially during the dry season when grass quality and quantity on grazing lands are inadequate. In the dry season, crop residues are a key source of livestock feed. The residues of grain legumes, also known as grain legume fodders (GLFs), are stored and traded for feeding in the dry season. The objectives of our experiment were to evaluate the effects of storage conditions and duration on dry matter (DM) and nutritional quality of GLFs, and to assess the risk of aflatoxin in stored groundnut fodder. The experiment was designed as a factorial trial with 18 treatment combinations with four replicates (4 farms). The treatments included: 3 types of GLFs (cowpea, groundnut and soybean fodder), 3 types of storage locations (rooftop, room and tree-fork) and 2 types of packaging (packed in polythene sacks and unpacked but tied with rope). Over a 120 day storage period, DM quantity reduced by an average of 24 % across all storage conditions, showing a range from 14 % in the best condition (sacks and rooms) to 35 % in the worst condition (bundles tied with rope and stored on rooftops or tree-forks). Soybean fodder had no leaves, the lowest crude protein content (CP) and organic matter digestibility (OMD), and the highest content of cell wall components compared to cowpea and groundnut fodder. These nutritional quality parameters in soybean fodder hardly changed during storage. Cowpea and groundnut fodder showed a decrease in leaf-to-stem ratio (LSR), CP and OMD, and an increase in the content of cell wall components during storage, but their nutritional value remained better than that of soybean fodder. Storage in sacks resulted in less DM loss, in less reduction of LSR and in a smaller increase of the content of cell wall components than storage of bundles tied with rope. Our study shows that the DM loss, the decrease in LSR, and the increase in the content of cell wall components can be prevented partly by storing GLFs in sacks instead of tying bundles with rope, and to a minor extent by storing in rooms instead of in the open air. Aflatoxin was not detectable in the groundnut fodder samples. Our results highlight that attention to storage conditions can improve the feeding value of GLFs which are key for livestock nutrition during the dry season.

SUBMITTER: Akakpo DB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7104892 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Evaluating the effects of storage conditions on dry matter loss and nutritional quality of grain legume fodders in West Africa.

Akakpo D B DB de Boer I J M IJM Adjei-Nsiah S S Duncan A J AJ Giller K E KE Oosting S J SJ

Animal Feed Science and Technology. 20200401

Feed scarcity is a major challenge for livestock production in West Africa, especially during the dry season when grass quality and quantity on grazing lands are inadequate. In the dry season, crop residues are a key source of livestock feed. The residues of grain legumes, also known as grain legume fodders (GLFs), are stored and traded for feeding in the dry season. The objectives of our experiment were to evaluate the effects of storage conditions and duration on dry matter (DM) and nutritiona ...[more]

PMID: 32255896

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Project description:ObjectivesSpecies Distribution Models (SDMs) are used to produce predictions of potential Leguminosae diversity in West Central Africa. Those predictions are evaluated subsequently using expert opinion. The established methodology of combining all SDMs is refined to assess species diversity within five defined vegetation types. Potential species diversity is thus predicted for each vegetation type respectively. The primary aim of the new methodology is to define, in more detail, areas of species richness for conservation planning.MethodologyUsing Maxent, SDMs based on a suite of 14 environmental predictors were generated for 185 West Central African Leguminosae species, each categorised according to one of five vegetation types: Afromontane, coastal, non-flooded forest, open formations, or riverine forest. The relative contribution of each environmental variable was compared between different vegetation types using a nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis analysis followed by a post-hoc Kruskal-Wallis Paired Comparison contrast. Legume species diversity patterns were explored initially using the typical method of stacking all SDMs. Subsequently, five different ensemble models were generated by partitioning SDMs according to vegetation category. Ecological modelers worked with legume specialists to improve data integrity and integrate expert opinion in the interpretation of individual species models and potential species richness predictions for different vegetation types.Results/conclusionsOf the 14 environmental predictors used, five showed no difference in their relative contribution to the different vegetation models. Of the nine discriminating variables, the majority were related to temperature variation. The set of variables that played a major role in the Afromontane species diversity model differed significantly from the sets of variables of greatest relative important in other vegetation categories. The traditional approach of stacking all SDMs indicated overall centers of diversity in the region but the maps indicating potential species richness by vegetation type offered more detailed information on which conservation efforts can be focused.

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Dataset Information

Evaluating the effects of storage conditions on dry matter loss and nutritional quality of grain legume fodders in West Africa.

Publications

Evaluating the effects of storage conditions on dry matter loss and nutritional quality of grain legume fodders in West Africa.

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