The production and leaf quality of Telfairia occidentalis in Cameroon are gravely threatened by leaf spot disease. A field study was conducted in July 2019 and 2020 to determine the influence of tillage systems and sowing dates on the incidence of Telfairia occidentalis leaf spot caused by Phoma sorghina. A randomized block design with three replications and four planting dates was used. The soil physicochemical properties were also determined. Data for disease incidence were registered once every two weeks and submitted to generalized linear model for statistical analysis. The means were separated by Duncan’s multiple range test at a 95% confidence interval. Calculations for disease incidence and statistical analysis were conducted using the Microsoft Excel program and SPSS version 23, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that the zero tilled field generally registered a lower leaf spot disease incidence than the tilled field, which was highly significant (p ≤ 0.05). In addition, the second sowing date in the zero tilled field proved to be better in terms of low disease incidence than other sowing dates employed in the study. Therefore, to minimize the devastating effects of leaf spot disease, zero tillage coupled with the second sowing date could be exploited.

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As a consequence of the antibiotics growth promoters restriction in livestock farming, there is a growing interest in plant feed additives. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of supplementing D. glomerata fruit powder on growth performance of Japanese quails. A total of 200 two weeks-old Japanese quail were randomly allocated to five experimental treatment groups. Experimental diets consisted of incorporating D. glomerata powder in the control ration (T0) at 2g (T1), 4g (T2) and 6g/kg (T3) of feed. Quails fed with D. glomerata supplemented diets were compared to quails fed on diet without any supplement (T0) and an antibiotic (1g/kg) medicated diet (T0+). Throughout the production period feed intake was not significantly affected by the experimental rations. Weight gain was significantly higher (p<0.05) with 4g/kg and 6g/kg D. glomerata, while feed conversion ratio was significantly lower (p<0.05) when compared to the control groups. Carcass yield of quails fed on antibiotic and 4g/kg D. glomerata were statistically higher (p<0.05) compared to the negative control diet. However, dietary treatments had no significant effect (p> 0.05) on the relative weight of organs when compared to the control diets. WBC, MCV, MCH, and MCHC were not significantly (p>0.05) affected by this spice. RBC significantly increased (p<0.05) with 6g/kg D. glomerata compared to the negative control diet, while Hgb and PCV decreased (p<0.05) compared to the positive control diet for the same treatment. Serum content in triglycerides was significantly higher (p<0.05) with 6g/kg D. glomerata compared to all other treatments. ASAT, ALAT, creatinine, total protein, albumin, urea, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL were not significantly affected by the inclusion of D. glomerata in the ration. Irrespective of the level of incorporation of D. glomerata, lactic acid bacteria count significantly increased as compared to Escherichia coli, Samonella and Staphylococcus spp. In conclusion, D. glomerata can be used up to 4g/kg as substitutes for infeed antibiotics for gut microbiota modulation and better weight gain without any adverse effects on the haemato-biochemical parameters of quail.

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Background: The sustainability of animal production system depends mostly on feed management. Therefore, the combination of local leguminous forage as source of protein and ginger as phytobiotics can be one of the safe ways to attain this goal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ginger meal associated with ration containing local protein sources Desmodium intortum and/or Stylosanthes guianensis on growth performance in rabbits. Method: A total of 64 young rabbits (32 males and 32 females) with an average weight of 1000 ± 200 g were used. There were randomly assigned to 8 experimental diets in a complete randomized designed with 8 rabbits per treatment and each rabbit serving as an experimental unit. From the control diet R0 (basal diet without legumes and phytobiotic) and 7 other diets (treatment): R1(basal diet without legumes + 1% ginger powder), R2 (basal diet + 20% S. guianensis + 1% ginger meal), R3 (basal diet + 20% D. intortum + 1% ginger powder), R4 (basal diet + 20% D. intortum + 0% ginger powder), R5 (basal diet + 20% S. guianensis + 0% ginger powder), R6 (basal diet + 10% D. intortum + 10% S. guianensis + 0% ginger powder) R7 (basal diet + 10% D. intortum + 10% S. guianensis + 1% ginger powder). Feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, carcass yield and average daily consumption were evaluated using standard procedures. Results: Feed intake and feed conversion ratio of animals fed R0 and R7 rations were significantly improved. Animals fed R1 ra-How to cite this paper: Ghandi, N.