Biomass yield of Hymenachne acutigluna and Paspalum atratum in association with Sesbania sesban on seasonally waterlogged soils and their use as feeds for cattle in the Mekong delta, Vietnam

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to measure: (i) the productivity and nutritional quality of Hymenachne acutigluna and Paspalum atratum grasses planted with and without the legume tree Sesbania sesban on waterlogged soils; and (ii) the effect of feeding Hymenachne acutigluna to cattle as the basal diet compared with Hymenachne acutigluna or Paspalum atratum supplemented with foliage of Sesbania. Inter-planting Hymenachne acutigluna or Paspalum atratum with Sesbania sesban resulted in increased yield of DM of 11% and of crude protein of 50% of the associated grass. The crude protein in the grass DM was increased from 8.36-8.79% to 11.2-12.7% by Sesbania. The combination of Sesbania foliage with either of the two grasses supported growth rates in crossbred cattle that were some 20% greater than when Hymenachne acutigluna grass was the sole diet. Apparent digestibility coefficients of DM and crude protein were higher on the diets supplemented with Sesbania.