Sweet blue lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) seed as a substitute for concentrate mix supplement in the diets of yearling washera rams fed on natural pasture hay as basal diet in Ethiopia

In the mixed crop-livestock farming system of Ethiopia where crop residues are the major feed resources and concentrate supplement feeds are not common, home-grown legume protein sources can help to minimise the feed problem. A 69-day feeding experiment on sheep was conducted to evaluate the potential of sweet blue lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) cultivar Sanabor seed as a substitute for commercial concentrate supplement. Thirty yearling male intact Washera sheep with initial body weight of 21 ± 1.38 kg (mean ± SD) were used. The design was a randomised complete block design with six replications. The five experimental supplement feeds were 453 g concentrate (T1), 342 g concentrate + 74 g lupin seed (T2), 228 g concentrate + 147 g lupin seed (T3), 116 g concentrate + 219 g lupin seed (T4) and 290 g lupin seed (T5) in dry matter basis to supplement around 100 g crude protein per day per animal. There were significant differences (P < 0.05) in total dry matter, crude protein, ash and organic matter intakes among treatments. The average daily body weight gain for T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 was 91, 79, 79, 87 and 74 g/day, respectively, and this difference was not significant (P > 0.05). It was concluded that blue lupin seed has a potential to substitute the commercial concentrate supplement feed in Ethiopia.     

Effect of supplementation of Simada sheep with graded levels of concentrate meal on feed intake,digestibility and body-weight parameters

The experiment consisting of 7 days of digestibility and 90 days of feeding trial was conducted at Wogda (Ethiopia) to determine the effect of supplementation of graded levels of concentrate mix (CM) on feed intake, digestibility, and body weight (BW) change in hay-based feeding of Simada sheep. Twenty-yearling Simada sheep with a mean initial BW of 17.9 ± 0.81 kg (mean ± SD) were used in randomized complete block design arranged into five blocks of four animals. The four dietary treatments that consisted of hay alone (T1), hay +150 g dry matter (DM; T2, low), hay +250 g DM (T3, medium), and hay +350 g DM (T4, high) CM were randomly assigned to each sheep within a block. The CM consisted of wheat bran (WB), noug seed (Guizotia abyssinica) meal and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) seed meal at the ratio of (2:1:1), respectively. Supplementation with T2 and T3 increased (P < 0.001) total DM and organic matter intake than the control treatment. Overall, supplementation improved (P < 0.001) crude protein intake, digestibility, feed conversion efficiency, BW gain, and profitability compared to the control, whereas sheep on the high than the low and medium level of supplementation performed better in these parameters among the supplemented treatments. From the results of this study, T4 is recommended as the best level of supplementation since it resulted in better nutrient utilization, animal performance, and profitability.     

Comparative evaluation of effective microbe– and urea molasses–treated finger millet (Eleusine coracana) straw on nutritive values and growth performance of Washera sheep in northwestern Ethiopia

An experiment was carried out to comparatively evaluate the effect of effective microbe (EM)– and urea molasses (UM)–treated finger millet straw (EMTFMS and UMTFMS, respectively) on nutrient utilization and growth performance of Washera lambs. Twenty yearling intact male Washera lambs with an initial body weight of 21.13?±?1.77 kg (mean ± SE) were used for feeding and digestibility trial. These lambs were grouped into five blocks of four animals and randomly assigned to four dietary treatments. The four experimental feeds were untreated finger millet straw (control) + 150 g wheat bran (WB) (T1), untreated finger millet straw + 150 g WB + 150 g Noug seed cake (NSC) (T2), UMTFMS + 150 g WB + 150 g NSC (T3), and EMTFMS + 150 g WB + 150 g NSC (T4). The lambs were de-wormed and vaccinated against ecto- and endo-parasites. Data were analyzed using ANOVA procedure of SAS. Results showed that crude protein (CP) content of finger millet straw (FMS) was improved from 2.13 to 9.7% in UM treatment and 2.13 to 2.39% in EM treatments. Total DM, CP, and OM intake were higher in lambs assigned in UMTFMS (P?<?0.01) and EMTFMS (P?<?0.01) than the control groups and significantly highest (P?<?0.01) in UMTFMS. A non-significant (P?>?0.05) difference was observed between treatment technologies in all nutrient apparent digestibility and average daily weight gain. Therefore, it can be concluded that both treatments could serve as an alternative measure to improve nutritive value of finger millet straw, but due to environmental effect, EM treatment could be safe.

     

The Effect of Providing Feed Supplementation and Anthelmintic to Donkeys during Late Pregnancy and Lactation on Live Weight and Survival of Dams and Their Foals in Central Ethiopia

Anthelmintic treatment (A), feed supplementation (F), anthelmintic and feed supplementation (A + F) or traditional management (Control) was given to 166 pregnant female donkeys in three localities (Holetta, Debre Zeit and Adami Tulu) in Ethiopia during an on-farm study. Treatments started during the last trimester of pregnancy and continued until 6 months after parturition when the foals were weaned. The same treatments were administered to foals once they reached 1 month of age. Live weights of adults and foals were measured throughout the study along with work output of adult donkeys and survival to weaning of the foals. Faecal worm egg counts (FEC) and blood packed cell volumes (PCV) were recorded monthly. When applied alone, anthelmintic treatment (A) or feed supplementation (F) had no significant effect on live weight gain or foal survival. However, when combined, anthelmintic and feed supplementation (A + F) significantly (p < 0.05) improved both live weight gain in adults and foals and foal survival. Workout was not affected by any of the treatments. Treatments A and A+F resulted in a highly significant (p<0.001) reduction in FEC in all three localities during the course of study and for at least 6 months after the last dose of anthelmintic in one of the study areas (Holetta). None of the treatments had any significant effect on PCV. Donkey owners in Ethiopia should be encouraged to adopt both anthelmintic treatment and feed supplementation if they expect tangible benefits in animal performance.     

Evaluation of Drought Tolerance in Tef [Eragrostis Tef (Zucc.) Trotter] Genotypes Using Drought Tolerance Indices

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - A field experiment was conducted to identify drought tolerant, high yielding and stable tef genotypes using drought tolerance indices. Sixty-four tef...     

Mitigating the anti-nutritional effect of polyphenols on in vitro digestibility and fermentation characteristics of browse species in north western Ethiopia

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Browse species are important sources of forage for livestock in Ethiopia, especially during the dry season, when the quality and quantity of green herbage is...     

Technology generation to dissemination: lessons learned from the tef improvement project

Indigenous crops also known as orphan crops are key contributors to food security, which is becoming increasingly vulnerable with the current trend of population growth and climate change. They have the major advantage that they fit well into the general socio-economic and ecological context of developing world agriculture. However, most indigenous crops did not benefit from the Green Revolution, which dramatically increased the yield of major crops such as wheat and rice. Here, we describe the Tef Improvement Project, which employs both conventional- and molecular-breeding techniques to improve tef—an orphan crop important to the food security in the Horn of Africa, a region of the world with recurring devastating famines. We have established an efficient pipeline to bring improved tef lines from the laboratory to the farmers of Ethiopia. Of critical importance to the long-term success of this project is the cooperation among participants in Ethiopia and Switzerland, including donors, policy makers, research institutions, and farmers. Together, European and African scientists have developed a pipeline using breeding and genomic tools to improve the orphan crop tef and bring new cultivars to the farmers in Ethiopia. We highlight a new variety, Tesfa, developed in this pipeline and possessing a novel and desirable combination of traits. Tesfa’s recent approval for release illustrates the success of the project and marks a milestone as it is the first variety (of many in the pipeline) to be released.     

Characterization of resistance to angular leaf spot of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) breeding line SPS50HB

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) makes an important contribution to the human diet, particularly in Africa and Latin America. Because angular leaf spot (ALS), caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudocercospora griseola, is one of the most severe foliar diseases of the bean plant, an important priority is to identify genes encoding resistance. The present study focused on the resistance shown by the Mesoamerican common bean breeding line SPS50HB. From the pattern of segregation for resistance displayed in an F₂ population bred from a cross between SPS50HB and the ALS-susceptible Ethiopian variety Red Wolaita, it was concluded that the resistance of SPS50HB is controlled by two unlinked dominant genes. An allelism test indicated that one of these genes was either identical with, allelic to, or closely linked to the major gene Phg-2 carried by variety Mexico 54. The sequence-characterized amplified region assays OPEO4 and PF13, which are diagnostic for an ALS resistance gene carried by the germplasm accession G10909, both tracked a possible second gene present in SPS50HB.     

Genotype × environment interaction and yield stability in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes in the central highland of Ethiopia

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Barley is one of the most important cereal crops cultivated over a wider environment in the diverse agro-ecologies in Ethiopia. Study on genotype by...