Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9600
ISSN: 2155-9600
Negash D, Animut G, Urgie M and Mengistu S
A study was conducted to determine forage chemical composition as well as in vitro and in sacco dry matter digestibility of oats-vetch mixture forage. The study was conducted in a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The first factor was five different seed proportions, i.e., 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of oats and the remains vetch for SP1, SP2, SP3, SP4 and SP5, respectively. The sole oat had a seeding rate of Oats 80 kg/ha or 48 gm/plot, and that of sole vetch had a seeding rate of 25 kg/ha or 15 g/plot. The second factor was either without (P0) or with (P1) phosphorus fertilizer (DAP) application at a rate of 100 kg/ha or 60 g/plot. The size of the plots was 3 × 2 m. Seeds were drilled by hand in rows 30 cm apart, spaced approximately 5 cm between plants and covered with soil to about 3 cm depth. The CP content of forages was affected (P<0.01) by seed proportion but not by phosphorous application. The CP content increases with increasing proportion of vetch in the forage mixture and ranged from 12.4 to 23.5%. The contents of NDF, ADF and ADL appeared to increase with increasing proportion of oats in the mixture. In Vitro Dry Matter Digestibility (IVDMD) was not affected (P>0.05) by both seed proportion and phosphorus application. Conversely, in sacco DM degradability was significantly affected (P<0.01) by seed proportion across the different incubation hours, but without a consistent trend for a conclusive remark.