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Performance of Deccani ram lambs grazed on stockpiled forage from established silvipasture

A long-term experiment was conducted to assess the performance of stocker ram lambs utilizing stockpiled foliage and forage from established Leucaena leucocephala-based silvopastoral system vis-a-vis natural pasture. The treatments were: (1) stockpiled foliage and forage in a L. leucocephala –based silvipasture (silvipasture) and (2) stockpiled forage in a natural grasslands (natural) consisting primarily Sehima nervosum, Heteropogon contortus, Dichanthium annulatum and Chrysopogon fulvus. Deccani ram lambs (36) were allowed to graze in both the treatment pastures from mid September to late March during 2006–09. Each treatment was replicated three times in a completely randomized design. Total forage production, nutrient contents and lambs average daily gain (ADG) was significantly (P<0.01) higher in silvipasture than natural pasture. Silvipasture system (4.11 t/ha) produced more (P<0.01) forage than the natural pasture (1.36 t/ha). When the foliage of L. leucocephala was excluded, the silvipasture system still produced higher (P<0.01) crude protein (CP) than natural pasture. Average daily gain (P<0.01) was 87.2 g for the ram lambs in the silvipasture and 59.1 g for the ram lambs in the natural pasture. Lambs weight gain per ha was greater (P<0.01) in the silvipasture than in the natural pasture (236 vs. 160 kg) over the grazing season. The study showed that the stockpiled foliage and forage from the silvopastoral system would meet the nutrient requirements of ram lambs even during drier months of the year.