Odedire et al., 2008. Livest. Res. Rural Dev., 20 (2)

This experiment was set up to compare the effect of Tephrosia candida and Leucaena leucocephala on the forage improvement of Panicum maximum and Andropogon gayanus. Both the browse trees and the grasses were purposely interplanted to assess the effects of the former on the latter. Harvesting of the grasses was carried out every six weeks to determine the annual yield.  Harvested grasses were analyzed for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and ether extract (EE).  The effects of browse trees were positive on the yield of grasses, as the grass plots without the trees were lowest in dry matter yield.  Leucaena leucocephala permitted a relatively higher biomass of Panicum maximum than those planted with Tephrosia candida. Andropogon gayanus behaved differently as Tephrosia candida favoured its forage yield than as observed for Leucaena leucocephala.  Effects of browse trees on nutrient composition of the two grasses were not obvious. Crude protein (9.4%) content of Panicum maximum was higher than that recorded (6.7%) for Andropogon gayanus. Neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and lignin were moderate for the two grasses.  The study indicated that Tephrosia candida and Leucaena leucocephala improved the yield of Panicum maximum and Andropogon gayanus when compared to the grasses without tree interplanting. Both the trees and grasses can be used strategically for the managements and production of ruminants.