THE EFFECT OF MUCUNA (Mucuna pruriens) FORAGE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF LACTATING COWS

Abstract

"A study was carried out at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute's Regional Research Centre in coastal Kenya to evaluate the long-term effect of Mucuna on milk production. Mucuna (Mucuna pruriens) was compared to Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium), a recommended legume for supplementation of the grass-based diet in dairy feeding. Twelve Jersey cows were divided into two groups balanced for initial milk yield and live weight. The cows were fed Napier grass ad libitum and three kilograms of maize bran daily. They were supplemented with eight kilograms of either fresh Mucuna forage or Gliricidia to form two treatment diets for 24 weeks. Each cow was housed in a well-ventilated stall with individual feeding facility. The two legumes had similar nitrogen (N) concentration but the tannin tended to be higher in Mucuna (2.9 vs. 2.1%). The total dry matter intake and milk yield were similar for the two groups. Mucuna and Gliricidia forages gave similar daily milk yield (5.2 and 5.5 kg cow-1, respectively) when used to supplement a grass basal diet."