Abstract:
Small farmers in Sri Lanka have used Gliricidia sepium as a multipurpose tree in traditional agricultural systems. A mixture offodder grass and Gliricidia sepium forage provide appropriate mixed dietfor ruminants, especially during the dry periods. However, improper management practices often have led to the reduced forage production. Therefore, the aim o f this study was to investigate the effect o f cutting frequency (4, 8 & 12 weeks) and distance o f harvesting from the branching point (2, 4, 8 & 12 cm) on the yield and quality o f Gliricidia sepium. Total fresh fodder yield (TFY) increased (P> 0.05) at 12 weeks frequency (4107g/plant). However, edible fresh yield (EFY) as a percentage o f totalfresh yields droppedfrom 77 percent at 4 weeks to 62.5 percent at 12 weeks. Average number ofshoots decreased with decreasing harvesting frequency, being 9.93, 8.31 and 7.7 7/plant at 4, 8 & 12 weeks frequency, respectively, whereas it increased with increased cutting distance (6.19, 7.62 9.21 and 10.74 at 2,4, 8 & 12 cm distances respectively). Leaf: stem ratio was a minimum (0.57) at 8 weeks but almost similar values o f 1.67 and 1.87 were obtainedfor 4 and 12 weeks frequencies, respectively. Dry matter, crude protein, crude fiber and total ash percentage o f edible dry yield (EDY) ranged from 20-25, 18.2-25.8, 13.7-30.2 and 6.0-9.2percentages respectively. Since treatments did not affect the proximate composition o f edible portion, implications are that G. sepium could be easily managedfor uniform quality in comparison with grasses. For the best effect on the most useful yield component (EDY) o f Gliricidia sepium grown in afence, the least frequent harvesting at 12 weeks (P0.05), but frequency at a shorter distance (4 cm ) can be recommended.
