HERBAGE YIELD AND QUALITY OF TWO GRAZING AREAS IN PALU VALLEY OF CENTRAL SULAWESI

Abstract

This study, carried out using a ‘destructive-sampling’ method, was aimed at investigating forage production and quality of two grazing areas (Kawatuna dan Poboya) in Palu Valley, Central Sulawesi. Samples of herbaceous plant cover from the two areas were harvested using a pair of 1 m2 quadrants placed randomly at 10 m interval on two parallel transects (20 m apart). The harvested samples were identified and grouped into grasses, legume and weeds, and the grass and legume samples were subjected to dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) analyses. Results of this study showed that the two studied grazing areas were thinly and poorly covered by vegetation, and bare spaces were obvious in some places. The herbaceous plant cover in the Kawatuna was composed of 41.8 % grasses, 24.3 % legumes and 33.9 % weeds while the corresponding composition in the Poboya was 52.3, 13.7 and 34 %. The DM yield (kg/ha) for the total herbaceous vegetation was 434.6 (Kawatuna) and 568.8 (Poboya), while that for forage component was 287.3 (Kawatuna) and 375.5 (Poboya). The N contents (g/100g DM) ranged from 5.1 to 6.2 for forage grasses and from 8.4 to 9.3 for forage legumes. The estimated carrying capacity was 2.0 ha and 1.5 ha per-head of sheep for the Kawatuna and Poboya, respectively. The two grazing areas were dominated by Cynodon sp. and Digitaria fuscescens grasses. The dominant forage legumes in the Kawatuna were Tephrosia sp., Desmodium trzjlorum and Alysicarpus sp. While these species were also fotmd in the Poboya, the primary legume in the latter site was Tephrosia sp., Lantana camara was the dominant shrubby weed found in the Kawatuna, followed by ‘milkweed’ (Caltropis sp.), Jatropha curcas, and Opuntia monacantha. These shrubby weeds were also observed in the Poboya, but clumpy-grass of Sporobolus sp. was more dominant in this site.