Chapter 6 : Effect of different levels of coconut pulp residue on fermentation characteristics and nutritive value of Napier grass silage

Abstract

The shortage of quality forages for livestock feeding in developing countries is a major concern for the development of the ruminant industry. In tropical regions like Malaysia, the primary feed resources for ruminants are pasture, grasses, and agricultural by-products. However, most of the farmers in Malaysia do not practice pasture feeding because of limited grazing land. Moreover, the production and nutritive values of fresh forages decreased during the dry season. Thus, farmers should find ways to preserve fresh forages along with other agricultural by-products and to maintain their nutritive values for year-round use. Napier grass is a perennial forage commonly used by farmers in Malaysia as ruminant feed (Zafar, 2019). It is one of the most promising grasses available for ruminant production in tropical areas due to its high yield, regrowth ability and ease of propagation (Bureenok et al., 2012). Farmers prefer feeding their ruminants with fresh forages, silage, and hay (Zafar, 2019). However, the tropical regions, characterised by high humidity and heavy rainfall during the optimum maturity stage of forages, makes it difficult for the farmers to produce hay.