Evaluation of Associative Effects of Gliricidia sepium and Megathyrsus maximus Combinations on Fibre Fractions, In-Vitro Carbon Dioxide and Methane Production

The voluntary feed intake and digestibility of forages are contingent upon the quality of the pasture, which in turn has an impact on ruminant productivity. There is limited research on the proximate/chemical composition, in-vitro gas production, and degradability of mixtures containing Megathyrsus maximus (MM) and Gliricidia sepium (GS). The study investigated the impact of different combinations of MM and GS on in-vitro gas production, degradability, and chemical composition. Megathyrsus maximus (MM) and Gliricidia sepium (GS) were combined as follows: T1- 100%MM + 0%GS, T2- 75%MM + 25%GS, T3- 50%MM + 50%GS, T4- 25%MM + 75%GS, and T5- 0%MM + 100%GS. The treatments were assayed using standard procedures. The proximate composition of the treatments was also determined using standard procedures. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at α0.05. Initial gas produced in T1 and T2 and net gas volume (NGV) observed in T1 and T2 were significantly lower compared to other treatments. In addition, the CO2 gas produced in T3, T4, and T5 was significantly higher than that produced in T1 and T2. However, T1 had the lowest CO2 gas production. The treatment with 100% legume (T5) had the highest methane (CH4) production, followed by T4 and T3. Treatments containing 100% (T1) and 75% (T2) grass had the lowest CH4 production. In terms of degradability, it was observed that T5 had significantly higher organic matter degradability (OMD) compared to other dietary treatments. The crude protein observed in T5 was also significantly higher than other treatments. In conclusion, mixtures with a high content of soluble carbohydrates presented the lowest gas production. It was determined that a mixture of 75% Megathyrsus maximus and 25% Gliricidia sepium has increased carbohydrate, ash, lower moisture content, and in vitro gas production and can be utilized by ruminant farmers as a cheap and readily available source of nutrition for their animals.