Roles of tree and shrub legume leaves as protein sources for cattle raised by small farmers in Bangkalan Regency

Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 65145, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: kusmartono_ansi@ub.ac.id

Abstract

Inclusion of tree or shrub legume leaves in the ration of beef cattle improved quality and the main indicators are the increase in crude protein content and digestibility. The present study was done from March to September 2023 involving 30 farmers in Bangkalan regency who raised madura cattle and the information gathered were type and number of feeds offered daily. Tree and shrub legume leaves such as Gliricidia, Moringa, Indigofera, and jackfruit are the most common protein sources used to supplement field grass or straws. Samples of forage were taken and the following rations were formulated to simulate cattle feed: A (grass only); B (60% grass + 40% gliricidia); C (60% grass + 40% moringa); D (60% grass + 40% Indigofera); E (60% grass + 40% jackfruit) leaves. Parameters measured using an in vitro gas production technique showed that supplementation with tree and shrub legume leaves on field grass basal diet improved dry matter digestibility (DMD) and organic matter (OMD) values and this was closely related to improvements of rumen NH₃ concentration which also contributed to efficiency of microbial protein synthesis (ESPM) value improvement. It can be concluded that tree and shrub legume leaves have shown important roles in improving the quality of field grass based diet for Madura cattle.