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Species Richness and Nutritive Values of Fodder and Their Relationship with Soil Characteristics in Ugandan Rangelands

Received: 18 July 2017     Accepted: 31 July 2017     Published: 18 May 2018
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Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the species richness and nutritive values of fodder and their relationship with soil characteristics in the Ugandan rangelands. The aim of the study was to determine the current status and nutritive values of fodder species and their relationship with soil characteristics. Four fodder species Panicum maximum - Guinea grass, Spartinaalterniflora - Cord grass, Hyperreniarufa -Jaragua/thatching grass and Acacia spp were selected for the study. The species were counted to determine their richness in their rangelands and also tested to establish their nutritive values. The focus on nutritive values was on CP, NDF, Ca, P and K. The research also determined the soil characteristics pH, OM, N, P and K. Results of the study show that the fodder species were below the recommended levels of species richness in the rangelands. Spartinaalterniflora (Cord grass) had the largest coverage of 109.1Km2 (22.4%) out of 486Km2 in the rangelands while Acacia had the lowest coverage of 10.2 Km2 (2.1%). All the soil characteristics were below the minimum concertration levels apart from P and there was a significant difference in soil characteristics across the different locations (P<0.05). Average pH was 6.63, OM was 0.5%, and P was 74.09ppm while K was 17cmoles/kg. The most nutritious fodder species was Panicum maximum (Guinea grass). However all the fodder species were below the recommended nutrient levels. The mean concentration level of CP in all the fodder species was8.95%, Ca was 1.29%, P was 0.4%, K was 1.59% while NDF was 29%. There was no significant difference in level of concentration across all the fodder species (P>0.05). Reduction of overstocking; growing of Panicum maximum (Guinea grass) at farm level; and rotation of animals are recommended.

Published in American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajaf.20180603.11
Page(s) 38-43
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Rangeland, Fodder Species, Soil Characteristics, Species Richness

References
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  • APA Style

    Christine Kyoshabire, Sarah Kizza, Karumuna Rollanda. (2018). Species Richness and Nutritive Values of Fodder and Their Relationship with Soil Characteristics in Ugandan Rangelands. American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 6(3), 38-43. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20180603.11

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    ACS Style

    Christine Kyoshabire; Sarah Kizza; Karumuna Rollanda. Species Richness and Nutritive Values of Fodder and Their Relationship with Soil Characteristics in Ugandan Rangelands. Am. J. Agric. For. 2018, 6(3), 38-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20180603.11

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    AMA Style

    Christine Kyoshabire, Sarah Kizza, Karumuna Rollanda. Species Richness and Nutritive Values of Fodder and Their Relationship with Soil Characteristics in Ugandan Rangelands. Am J Agric For. 2018;6(3):38-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20180603.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajaf.20180603.11,
      author = {Christine Kyoshabire and Sarah Kizza and Karumuna Rollanda},
      title = {Species Richness and Nutritive Values of Fodder and Their Relationship with Soil Characteristics in Ugandan Rangelands},
      journal = {American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry},
      volume = {6},
      number = {3},
      pages = {38-43},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajaf.20180603.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20180603.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajaf.20180603.11},
      abstract = {A study was conducted to determine the species richness and nutritive values of fodder and their relationship with soil characteristics in the Ugandan rangelands. The aim of the study was to determine the current status and nutritive values of fodder species and their relationship with soil characteristics. Four fodder species Panicum maximum - Guinea grass, Spartinaalterniflora - Cord grass, Hyperreniarufa -Jaragua/thatching grass and Acacia spp were selected for the study. The species were counted to determine their richness in their rangelands and also tested to establish their nutritive values. The focus on nutritive values was on CP, NDF, Ca, P and K. The research also determined the soil characteristics pH, OM, N, P and K. Results of the study show that the fodder species were below the recommended levels of species richness in the rangelands. Spartinaalterniflora (Cord grass) had the largest coverage of 109.1Km2 (22.4%) out of 486Km2 in the rangelands while Acacia had the lowest coverage of 10.2 Km2 (2.1%). All the soil characteristics were below the minimum concertration levels apart from P and there was a significant difference in soil characteristics across the different locations (PPanicum maximum (Guinea grass). However all the fodder species were below the recommended nutrient levels. The mean concentration level of CP in all the fodder species was8.95%, Ca was 1.29%, P was 0.4%, K was 1.59% while NDF was 29%. There was no significant difference in level of concentration across all the fodder species (P>0.05). Reduction of overstocking; growing of Panicum maximum (Guinea grass) at farm level; and rotation of animals are recommended.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Species Richness and Nutritive Values of Fodder and Their Relationship with Soil Characteristics in Ugandan Rangelands
    AU  - Christine Kyoshabire
    AU  - Sarah Kizza
    AU  - Karumuna Rollanda
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajaf.20180603.11
    T2  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JF  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JO  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    SP  - 38
    EP  - 43
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8591
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20180603.11
    AB  - A study was conducted to determine the species richness and nutritive values of fodder and their relationship with soil characteristics in the Ugandan rangelands. The aim of the study was to determine the current status and nutritive values of fodder species and their relationship with soil characteristics. Four fodder species Panicum maximum - Guinea grass, Spartinaalterniflora - Cord grass, Hyperreniarufa -Jaragua/thatching grass and Acacia spp were selected for the study. The species were counted to determine their richness in their rangelands and also tested to establish their nutritive values. The focus on nutritive values was on CP, NDF, Ca, P and K. The research also determined the soil characteristics pH, OM, N, P and K. Results of the study show that the fodder species were below the recommended levels of species richness in the rangelands. Spartinaalterniflora (Cord grass) had the largest coverage of 109.1Km2 (22.4%) out of 486Km2 in the rangelands while Acacia had the lowest coverage of 10.2 Km2 (2.1%). All the soil characteristics were below the minimum concertration levels apart from P and there was a significant difference in soil characteristics across the different locations (PPanicum maximum (Guinea grass). However all the fodder species were below the recommended nutrient levels. The mean concentration level of CP in all the fodder species was8.95%, Ca was 1.29%, P was 0.4%, K was 1.59% while NDF was 29%. There was no significant difference in level of concentration across all the fodder species (P>0.05). Reduction of overstocking; growing of Panicum maximum (Guinea grass) at farm level; and rotation of animals are recommended.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Ministry of Water and Environment, Department of Environment Affairs, Kampala, Uganda

  • Department of Engineering and Environment, Uganda Christian University, Mukono, Uganda

  • Health and Environment Research International (HERI), Kampala, Uganda

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