Identification and evaluation of agro-ecological variation in dry matter yield and nutritional values of local grasses used as livestock feed in Adola Reedde, Guji Zone, Ethiopia

Figures & data

Figure 1. Geographical location of the study area.

Table 1. The major available grass species identified in the study area.

No	Grass species	Family name	Local name	Common name
1	Cenchrus ciliaris	Poaceae	Mata guddeesa	Buffel grass
2	Cynodon dactylon (L. Pers.)	Poaceae	Qorcaa	Bermuda grass
3	Sporobolus pyramidalis P. Beauv.	Poaceae	Miciica	Giant rat's tail grass
4	Heteropogon contortus (L.) Roem. & Schult	Poaceae	Qophii	Black spear grass
5	Chrysopogon aucheri	Poaceae	Allaloo	Aucher’s grass (Kenya)
6	Setaria barbata (Lam.) Kunth	Poaceae	Sokorru	Bristly foxtail grass
7	Hyparrhenia hirta (L.) Stapf	Poaceae	Luuccole	Common thatching grass
8	Panicum maximum Jacq	Poaceae	Laabbessa	Guinea grass
9	Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf	Poaceae	Obbaa	Kamerun grass
10	Digitaria ternata (A. Rich.) Stapf	Poaceae	Sutaa	Blackseed crabgrass
11	Sporobulus festivus	Poaceae	Miciica lagaa	Red dropseed
12	Leersia hexandraSw	Poaceae	Qabataa	southern cutgrass
13	Themeda triandra	Poaceae	saamphilee	Red grass
14	Bothriochloa insculpta	Poaceae	Luuccole gammoojji	Creeping bluegrass
15	Eragrostis papposa	Poaceae	Qaawwaa	Love grass or cane grass

Table 2. Chemical composition of grass species across three agro-climate of the study area.

Grass species	Agro ecology	DM (%)	CP (g/kg DM)	Ash (g/kg DM)	NDF (g/kg DM)	ADF (g/kg DM)	ADL (g/kg DM)	RFV (%)	IVDMD (g/kg DM)	ME (MJ)
Cenchrus ciliaris	Lowland	93.25^de	69.00^m–s	114.0^ghij	668.6^cd	457.0^f–j	113.5^hijk	59.87^gh	434.0^g	6.51^f
Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.)	Lowland	90.75^gh	97.75^b	91.5	619.0^f	412.5t	93.0^st	68.65^ab	504.0^b	7.56^b
Sporobolus pyramidalis P. Beauv.	Lowland	94.30^c	65.00^tuv	122.4^cde	688.5^bc	473.0^bcde	125.0 ^cde	56.59^j	423.0^hij	6.35^g
Heteropogon contortus (L.) Roem. & Schult	Lowland	95.70^a	56.50^y	132.0^a	701.4^a	492.5^a	142.0^a	53.88^klm	403.0^ijk	6.05^h
Chrysopogon aucheri	Lowland	93.45^de	59.00^xy	114.5^ghij	669.0^cd	458.0^fghi	114.0^ghij	59.72^ghi	434.0^g	6.51^f
Setaria barbata (Lam.) Kunth	Lowland	94.7^bc	63.00^vw	126.5^abc	694.5^ab	478.0^bc	129.0 ^bc	55.65^k	419.5^ij	6.29^gh
Hyparrhenia hirta (L.) Stapf	Lowland	94.80^b	62.50^vwx	126.0^bcd	644.5^e	477.0^bcd	129.0^bc	55.79^k	419.5^ij	6.29^gh
Panicum maximum Jacq	Lowland	94.05^cd	65.00^tuv	122.0^cdef	683.8^c	470.0^cde	123.0 ^def	57.32^ij	423.0^hij	6.35^g
Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf	Lowland	93.80^cde	66.00^r–v	120.5^def	682.0^c	467.5^cdef	121.0 ^efg	57.69^i	426.5^h	6.40^fg
Digitaria ternata (A. Rich.) Stapf	Lowland	94.00^cd	65.00^tuv	121.5^cdef	687.5^bc	470.0^cde	124.5^cde	57.00^ijk	424.0^hi	6.36^fgh
Sporobolus fesivalis	Lowland	94.45^bcd	63.00^vw	125.0^cd	692.0^b	477.0^bcd	128.5^bc	55.97^jkl	421.0^i	6.32^g
Leersia hexandraSw	Lowland	93.90^cd	65.50^stuv	121.5^cdef	684.0^c	471.5^bcde	123.4^cde	57.11^ijk	424.0^hi	6.36^fgh
Themeda triandra	Lowland	94.40^bcd	64.00^uvw	123.0^cde	690.1^b	474.0^bcde	126.5^bcd	56.40^jk	422.0^i	6.33^g
Bothriochloa insculpta	Lowland	94.90^b	61.0^wx	127.0^abc	696.8^ab	483.0^ab	132.5^b	55.03^kl	419.5^ij	6.29^gh
Eragrostis papposa	Lowland	93.65^d	68.00^o–t	118.0^efgh	676.8^c	464.0^efgh	118.0^efgh	58.42^hi	427.5^gh	6.41^fg
Cenchrus ciliaris	Highland	90.90^g	80.5^c	100.0^opq	633.5^ef	424.0^rst	96.0^rst	66.47^bcd	489.5^bcd	7.34^bcd
Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.)	Highland	88.70^h	113.0^a	87.0^r	586.0^g	397.5^u	90.5^t	73.16^a	556.0^a	8.34^a
Sporobolus pyramidalis P. Beauv.	Highland	92.80^e	70.50^k–q	113.5^g–k	665.5^cd	454.0^g–l	112.0^h−1	60.40^g	436.5^fg	65.5^efg
Heteropogon contortus (L.) Roem. & Schult	Highland	89.90^ghi	75.00^fghi	105.0^nop	649.6^def	437.0^m–q	103.5^nopq	63.61^de	455.0^d	6.83^cde
Chrysopogon aucheri	Highland	92.60^ef	72.00^h–n	110.6^jklm	660.8^cde	448.0^i–m	107.8 ^j–o	61.44^f	442.5^efg	6.64^def
Setaria barbata (Lam.) Kunth	Highland	91.60^fg	74.50^ghij	105.5^mno	650.0^de	436.5^m–q	103.5^nopq	63.67^de	455.5^d	6.83^cde
Hyparrhenia hirta (L.) Stapf	Highland	92.60^ef	72.50^g–m	109.0^j–n	656.3^cde	446.0^j–n	106.5^k–o	62.06^efg	446.0^ef	6.69^def
Panicum maximum Jacq	Highland	92.25^efg	73.00^g–l	108.0^klmn	655.0^de	443.5^k–o	105.5^l–p	62.45^ef	447.0^e	6.71^de
Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf	Highland	91.35^fgh	79.00^cde	101.0^opq	636.0^e	427.5^qrs	97.5^qrst	65.87^cd	480.0^cd	7.20^c
Digitaria ternata (A. Rich.) Stapf	Highland	90.80^gh	81.0^c	99.0^q	630.3^ef	423.0^rst	96.0^rst	66.91^bc	493.0^bc	7.40^bc
Sporobolus fesivalis	Highland	91.6^fg	74.00^g–k	107.0^lmn	652.5^de	440.5^mno	104.0 ^m–q	62.98^def	452.5^de	6.79^d
Leersia hexandraSw	Highland	90.85^g	80.5^c	99.6^pq	630.0^ef	418.5^st	95.0^st	67.50^b	493.5^bc	7.40^bc
Themeda triandra	Highland	92.00^efg	73.50^g–k	108.3^klmn	655.0^de	443.5^k–o	106.5^k–o	62.42^ef	446.5^e	6.67^de
Bothriochloa insculpta	Highland	92.70^ef	71.50^I–o	111.9^ijkl	662.6^cde	452.5^h–l	110.0^I–n	60.78^fg	440.5^efg	6.61^e
Eragrostis papposa	Highland	92.00^efg	79.50^cd	100.7^opq	636.8^e	428.5^pqrs	98.0^qrs	65.65^cd	485.0^c	7.30^bcd
Cenchrus ciliaris	midland	91.5^fg	75.50^efgh	104.5^n–q	649.2^def	439.5^mnop	102.5^opqr	63.33^def	455.0^d	6.83^cde
Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.)	midland	89.90^ghi	99.5^b	92.0^r	616.5^efg	410.0^t	92.5^st	68.44^b	515.0^ab	7.58^ab
Sporobolus pyramidalis P. Beauv.	midland	93.55^d	68.50^n–t	116.5^fghi	672.5^c	462.5^efgh	116.0^fghi	58.92^h	430.0^gh	64.5^fg
Heteropogon contortus (L.) Roem. & Schult	midland	93.20^de	69.50^l–r	114.3^ghij	668.5^cd	456.5^f–j	113.5 ^hijk	59.91^gh	435.0^fgh	6.53^f
Chrysopogon aucheri	midland	93.45^de	69.00^m–s	114.5^ghij	669.0^cd	458.0^fghi	114.0^ghij	59.72^ghi	434.0^g	6.51^f
Setaria barbata (Lam.) Kunth	midland	93.00^def	70.50^k–q	113.5^g–k	665.9^cd	454.0^g–l	112.5^h–l	60.37^g	437.0^fg	6.55^efg
Hyparrhenia hirta (L.) Stapf	midland	93.75^d	67.00^q–u	120.5^def	680.6^bcd	467.0^cdef	121.0^defg	57.80^hij	425.5^h	6.38^fg
Panicum maximum Jacq	midland	93.15^de	69.50^l–r	113.5^g–k	667.5^cd	454.5^g–k	113.0 ^hijk	60.22^g	435.5^fgh	6.53^f
Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf	midland	91.90^efg	7.35^g–k	107.7^lmn	654.0^de	442.5^lmno	105.5^l–p	62.64^e	448.5^def	6.73^d
Digitaria ternata (A. Rich.) Stapf	midland	91.45^fgh	76.00^defg	104.0^nopq	648.0^def	436.0^nopq	102.5^opqr	63.84^d	459.0^cde	6.89^cd
Sporobolus fesivalis	midland	93.70^d	67.50^p–u	118.0^efgh	676.0^c	465.5^defg	118.0^fghi	58.33^hi	427.0^ghi	6.41^fg
Leersia hexandraSw	midland	91.40^fgh	78.50^cdef	101.0^opq	640.0^e	432.0^opqr	98.5^pqrs	64.96^cde	477.5^cd	7.20^c
Themeda triandra	midland	92.75^e	71.00^j–p	112.5^h–l	664.3^cde	453.5^h–l	111.5^h–l	60.55^fgh	437.5^f	6.56^ef
Bothriochloa insculpta	midland	93.80^cde	66.00^r–v	120.5^def	680.7^bcd	467.0^cdef	121.0^defg	57.87^hij	426.5^h	6.39^fg
Eragrostis papposa	midland	92.80^e	71.00^j–p	112.5^h–l	662.5^cde	452.5^h–l	110.0 ^I–n	60.82^fg	438.0^f	6.57^ef
Overall mean		92.78	72.3	112.3	662.9	451.8	112.3	60.9	446.5	66.9
LSD		0.156	3.780	5.559	12.717	11.916	7.354	0.461	13.494	0.049
Agro ecology		0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001
Species		0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001
Agro ecology*Species		0.0008	0.0005	0.0002	0.0049	0.0014	0.0001	0.0031	0.0001	0.0001

LSD = Least Significant Difference; CP = Crude Protein; NDF = Neutral Detergent Fibre; ADF = Acid Detergent Fibre; ADL = Acid Detergent Lignin; ME = Metabolizable Energy; IVDMD = In vitro DM digestibility; RFV = Relative Feed value; Means with different letters within column and grass species are significantly different at p ≤ 0.05.

Table 3. Dry matter yield of herbaceous species by their dry weight across three agro-climates of the Adola Reedde district.

Dry weight g m^−2 by the floristic composition
Species	Lowland	Highland	Midaltitude
Cenchrus ciliaris	0.32	0.40	0.34
Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.)	0.41	0.37	0.32
Sporobolus pyramidalis P. Beauv.	0.31	0.35	0.36
Heteropogon contortus (L.) Roem. &Schult	0.33	0.46	0.35
Chrysopogon aucheri	0.38	0.44	0.40
Setariabarbata (Lam.) Kunth	0.16	0.18	0.22
Hyparrhenia hirta (L.) Stapf	0.30	0.40	0.34
Panicum maximum Jacq	0.32	0.39	0.35
Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf	0.20	0.25	0.22
Digitariaternata (A. Rich.) Stapf	0.26	0.31	0.30
Sporobolus fesivalis	0.29	0.33	0.31
Leersia hexandraSw	0.31	0.39	0.35
Themeda triandra	0.38	0.36	0.30
Bothriochloa insculpta	0.33	0.38	0.34
Eragrostis papposa	0.42	0.39	0.35

Table 4. Dry matter yield (g m⁻²) (Mean ± SE) as sampled from different slopes across three agro-climates in the Adola Reedde district.

Slope	Lowland	Highland	Midland
Medium	92.49^c±0.01	119.36^a±0.04	112.37^b±0.17
Upper	92.5^c±0.02	119.41^a±0.07	112.65^b±0.17
Lower	92.47^c±0.04	119.17^a±0.17	112.71^b±0.17

Means with different letters across a row are significantly different and means with the same letters within the column are not significantly different at p ≤ 0.05.

Table 5. Rank of herbaceous species according to Adola Reedde pastoralists’ perception.

[close-strick]Species name	Rank by Respondents	Low land	High Land	midland	RFR (%)
Cenchrus ciliaris	1	18	20	18	93.33
Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.)	2	20	16	19	91.67
Sporobolus pyramidalis P. Beauv.	3	17	18	17	86.67
Heteropogon contortus (L.) Roem. &Schult	4	19	14	16	81.67
Chrysopogon aucheri	5	16	15	12	71.66
Setaria barbata (Lam.) Kunth	6	15	12	13	66.67
Hyparrhenia hirta (L.) Stapf)	7	13	11	14	63.33
Panicum maximum Jacq	8	9	17	11	61.6
Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf	9	10	9	15	56.67
Digitaria ternata (A. Rich.) Stapf	10	12	10	10	53.33
Sporobulus festivus	11	8	13	9	50
Leersia hexandraSw	12	14	8	7	48.33
Themeda triandra	13	11	6	6	38.33
Bothriochloa insculpta	14	7	7	5	31.67
Eragrostis papposa	15	6	3	2	18.33

Notes: Rank by respondents 1-5 = best, 6-10 = moderate, 11-15 = worst.

RFR = Frequency of Respondent.

Table 6. The correlation coefficient between farmers perception’s and the nutritional value of grass species.

Agro-climate	r value
	DM	CP	Ash	NDF	ADF	ADL	RFV	ME	IVDMD
Lowland	−0.163	−0.125	0.179	0.200	0.191	0.200	−0.204	−0.187	−0.187
Highland	0.014	0.080	0.200	−0.213	−0.041	−0.172	0.136	0.304	0.036
midland	0.147	0.372	0.168	−0.167	−0.154	−0.154	0.139	0.139	0.139

CP = Crude Protein; NDF = Neutral Detergent Fibre; ADF = Acid Detergent Fibre; ADL = Acid Detergent Lignin; ME = Metabolizable Energy; IVDMD = In vitro DM digestibility; RFV = Relative Feed value.

Table 7. The correlation between different parameters of the nutritional value of the grass species across three agro-climates.

	CP	Ash	NDF	ADF	ADL	DM	RFV	ME	IVDMD
CP	1.000
Ash	−0.924*	1.000
NDF	−0.951**	0.988**	1.000
ADF	−0.922**	0.996	0.991**	1.000
ADL	−0.852**	0.983	0.956**	0.981	1.000
DM	−0.196**	0.989	0.984**	0.991**	0.975**	1.000
RFV	0.935**	−0.993	−0.997**	−0.997**	−0.967**	−0.988**	1.000
ME	0.961**	−0.943**	−0.971**	−0.953**	−0.885**	−0.940**	0.967**	1.000
IVDMD	0.961**	−0.943*	−0.971**	−0.953**	−0.885**	−0.940**	0.967**	0.967**	1.000

* =  significant difference at p < 0.05 and ** =  highly significant difference at p < 0.001.