Forage Legumes in Crop-Livestock Mixed Farming Systems: A Review

2016-04-04T01-57-35Z
Source: International Journal of Livestock Research
Gezahagn Kebede, Getnet Assefa, Fekede Feyissa, Mengistu Alemayehu.
The future animal agriculture in the country suggests that the greatest opportunity for sustainable increases in agricultural productivity lie in agricultural intensification through the development of mixed crop-livestock farming systems. The linkage in mixed crop-livestock production systems through feed resources particularly legumes which fix N, and provide high quality feed, can enhance both the level and rate of nutrient cycling in the system, leading to increased soil fertility, improve animal nutrition, and increase the overall production and protect the environment, especially where land resource is limited. Forage legumes integration with cereals by intercropping generally results in higher fodder protein yield than that in cereals alone. Intercropped forage legumes have been reported to have significantly higher crude protein and lower fiber contents than their respective sole cereal residues and this could improve their voluntary intake and digestibility by livestock. There are various methods of integrating forage legumes into crop-livestock farming systems. The type of forage crops, food crops grown in the area, the soil type, the rainfall pattern and other social and economic factors determine the method of integration used for a specific farming system and locality. Forage legumes generally can be integrated into crop-livestock production systems by growing the herbaceous species in natural pastures, on arable land, crop rotation with cereals, sequential cropping, intercropping/ under sowing and relay cropping. Generally, the role of forage legumes in the farming system requires studying economic importance as related to farmers benefit, animal performance and the management of natural resource in a multidisciplinary approach.


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