Livestock Research Station Kattupakkam-603 203, India.
*Reprint request: Dr. L. Radhakrishnan, Department of Animal Nutrition, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai-600 007, India, Tel. +91-44-25381506, E-mail: radhakrish67@yahoo.com.
An experiment was conducted to study the biomass yield, palatability, chemical composition and nutritive value of Desmanthus virgatus in sheep. The biomass yield per acre for six cuttings was 39.81 tons and the mean crude protein and crude fibre content were 15.20 and 19.77 percent. The mean dry matter intake in terms of percent body weight and metabolic body weight was 4.97 percent and 104.52 g per kg. The DCP and TDN content were 10.86 and 59.79 percent. From the results obtained in the present study, it is apparent that Desmanthus virgatus fodder can be used as potential leguminous fodder source for small ruminants.
Desmanthus virgatus, Biomass yield, Chemical composition, Nutritive value, Sheep
