Grasslands in the Ethiopian highlands have been degrading with grazing loads. Fertilizers like nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur improves the soil fertility and species composition of the grazing lands. This study justifies, evaluation of top dressing nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers on biomass yield of grass lands for market-oriented livestock production studied at Chosha kebele, Southern Ethiopia in 2017. Three fertilizer levels ((T1), 150 kg ha−1 urea (T2) and combination of 110 kg ha−1 urea and 100 kg ha−1 NPS (T3)) were laid out in randomized complete block design with 6 replications in summer and winter cropping seasons. Dry matter yield was significantly (P<0.001) different among treatments and higher results were obtained for combination of urea and NPS, followed by urea and the control one. Higher grasses species composition between application of combination of urea and NPS than urea alone. Net revenue is higher in nitrogen alone application than nitrogen and phosphorus. Therefore, better marginal rate of return (MRR=828%) recorded in Urea application for grazing land improvement in Gamo highland areas. It is recommendable to apply 150 kg/ha urea fertilizer to bring optimum yield of grazing land in Southern Ethiopian Highlands.

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The current experimental work was aimed to evaluate weight gain, linear measurement and economic feasibility of yearling woyto-guji goats supplemented dried woybeta leaf meal (DWLM) as a substitute of concentrate mixture (CM). Twenty intact bucks with an average initial body weight of 19 ± 0.25 kg were selected from Baide community based breeding program (CBBP) and assigned to one of the five treatment feeds in a completely randomized block design as: (T1= Grazing + 300 g CM, T2= Grazing + 75g DWLM + 225 g CM, T3 = Grazing only, T4 = Grazing + 225 g DWLM + 75 g CM and T5= Grazing + 300 g DWLM). All animals were allowed to ad libitum access of water and the experiment was taken for the duration of 90 days. Supplemental feeding of air DWLM in current experiment positively influenced the performance of animals by providing higher feed intake and greater weight gain as compared to control group (T3). The results from ADG were 131.5g, 84.2g, 70.3g, 99.5g and 109.5g for T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively with T1 and T5 gained significantly (P<0.05) better than all other treatments. The results from DMI were 4.1kg, 3.3kg, 3.0kg, 3.5kg and 3.7kg for T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively. Though goats in T1 performed better than all other treatments, supplementation of air DWLM (T5) was economically dominant and thus is recommended for the initiation of growth of yearling bucks based on the target of the producer. Therefore, it could be concluded that DWLM is a potential feed to replace CM especially during lean periods where other sources may not be readily available and expensive

Fodder production competition increased due to ever-increasing human pressure on land for the production of food crops and hydroponic fodder production could be the one option to commit the problem. Five crops (maize, oats, cowpea, lablab, and common bean) seeds with and without fertigation evaluated for fodder yield laid out in a completely randomized design with three replications at Arba Minch Agricultural Research Center during May-August 2019. Shoot length, seed sprouting ability, and duration, green fodder yield were measured. Cereal grains took longer days to be sprouted than pulses. Pulses especially common beans weighed others in the experiment. All crops in the experiment were found to be suitable for hydroponic fodder production. Partial budget analysis showed that hydroponic fodder production could benefit by 30.8% more than grain production. Hydroponic fodder production could be the option for city agriculture, especially in the smallholder poultry business for young entrepreneurs, less land holding farmers, elders and women, and even other interested groups in urban agriculture. Thus, it is ideal for small business groups and the nutritional aspect may be considered by animal nutritionists further.

The experiment was conducted on former Konso Woreda, now Konso Zone, Baide station. The aim of the study was to determine cheka-residue as an economic source of energy feed to replace wheat bran through evaluating its effect on weight gain and nutrient digestibility. Twenty intact yearling woyto-guji bucks selected from Baide CBBP association were divided in to five treatment groups each having four animal units. They were assigned to five experimental feeds [(Group-1/T1= Grazing + 1.8 L cheka-residue; Group-2/T2= Grazing + 0.6 L cheka-residue + 132 g wheat bran; Group-3/T3= Grazing + 1.2 L cheka-residue + 68 g wheat bran; Group-4/T4= Grazing + 200 g wheat bran; Group-5/T5= Grazing only) in a completely block design. Equal amount of noug-seed-cake (100 g/anl/day) was given to all treatment groups. The study comprised 90 days of feeding + 7 days digestibility trial. Supplementation after grazing tend to have increased (p<0.05) live weight and nutrient digestibility of experimental goats in current study. The average daily gain of goats maintained with T1 and T4 were significantly higher (p<0.05) than those of other treatments. Animals that received T1 and T4 had higher (p<0.05) total dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and crude fiber digestibility than in the remaining dietary treatments with T4 recording the highest value of 80.6% which was 12.81% higher than control. However, the two treatments (T1 and T4) were not different both in weight gain and nutrient digestibility reflecting that one can be used on place of the other. Besides, goats attained slaughter weight in a range of 29.9 to 31.8 kg as compared to 26.8 kg weight recorded for goats managed as control. Cheka-residue supplementation in current experiment provides more profit than others. Hence, it can be concluded that this by-product is a potential feed to replace wheat bran as it is very acceptable.