The study was conducted with the field grown gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus) and Centro (Centrosema pascourum) to examine the nutritional quality of gamba grass ensiled with graded levels of Centrosema pascourum. The forages were harvested separately chopped into 2-3cm length manually and mixed thoroughly as follows: (100:0, 90:10, 80:20,70:30, 60:40, 50:50 and 40:60% of Andropogon gayanus: Centrosema pascourum, respectively) and designated as T1 , T2 , T3 , T4 , T5 , T6 and T7 respectively. The treatments were ensiled in a laboratory using bottle silos in triplicates per treatments and kept for 30 days fermentation period. The silages were evaluated for quality characteristics, proximate composition, fibre fractions, volatile fatty acids composition and ammonia nitrogen concentration (NH3 -N) using standard procedure. The results obtained showed that the silages were adequately fermented with pleasant and fruity odour, greenish-yellow colour, firm and dry texture. The pH, ether extract (EE), nitrogen free extract (NFE), organic matter (OM) and Ash contents of the silages were similar across the treatments (P<0.05). However, the crude protein (CP) contents of silages (9.44-14.88%), varied significantly (P<0.05) across the treatments. The crude fibre (CF), cellulose, hemicellulose and fibre fractions (neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) of the silages differed significantly (P<0.05) except for acid detergent lignin (ADL) which was similar across the treatments. Other parameters such as volatile fatty acids (VFAs), NH3 concentration, temperature (°C) and dry matter (DM) moisture content (MC) differed significantly across the board. The results of this study indicated that ensiled Andropogon gayanus with Centrosema pascourum at varied levels of inclusion improved physico chemical properties of the silages. The inclusion of Centrosema pascourum legume forage also improved the crude protein (CP) contents of ensiled gamba grass significantly. Thus, the study recommends the use of 60% Andropogon gayanus and 40% Centrosema pascourum, which is practicable and obtainable.

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Crude protein is essentially needed for ruminants but expensive to supply. Mucuna puriens is a high yielding domesticated legume. When the legume is strategically combined with a fibre source, it will make a good diet for ruminants. Thus, a study was carried out to assess the effect of ensiling mucuna with maize forage on performance of rams. In the study, rams were fed silage combinations of Maize Forage (MF) and Mucuna pruriens foliage (MPF). Downy mildew and streak resistant (DMR-SR) yellow variety maize was planted and harvested as MF at six weeks of growth and ensiled with MPF at four levels : 1:0, 3:1, 1:1 and 1:3 for 21 days. All the four silages were fed to 20 WAD rams (12.00±0.25 Kg) in a completely randomised design for 105 days. Proximate composition of the silages, apparent nutrient digestibility of silages in WAD rams, feed intake and weight changes were determined using standard procedures, while feed conversion ratio was computed using standard procedures. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at α0.05...The dry matter (DM) was significantly higher in T1 (25.65±0.62) and T2 (23.48±0.47) than T3 (21.80±0.41) and T4 (21.57±0.40). The crude protein (CP) was highest in T4 (13.0±0.6) and least in T1 (8.0±0.2). The crude fibre was significantly higher in T1 (26.4±2.6) and T2 (26.2±2.0) than T3 (24.0±1.8) and T4 (21.6±0.9). Apparent digestibility of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) was highest in T2 (59.2±1.7) and least in T4 (37.7±1.9), while percentage nitrogen retention was significantly higher in T2 (43.2±3.8) and lower in T1 (20.0±4.3). The FCR for rams fed T2 was significantly lower (8.84±1.2) than T1 (9.76±0.80), T3 (9.60 ±0.60) and T4 (11.50±0.90) Ensiling maize forage with Mucuna pruriens foliage at 3:1 enhanced nutrient digestibility and growth performance in West African dwarf rams without any deleterious effect.

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