Author : Kustono

Summary : The chemical composition of a long maturing rice variety (B4259) forage cut 15 cm above the ground at different days after transplanting (DAT) showed that crude protein content decreased from 25.2 percent at 30 DAT to 7.7 percent at 80 DAT. On the other hand, crude fiber and nitrogen-free extract increased as the plant matured. The changes were similar to those reported for tropical pasture grasses. The result of the study on conservation of rice forage as silage pre-treated with molasses (5 and 10 percent) and corn grit (10 and 20 percent) showed that rice forage cut at 50-80 DAT can be ensiled successfully without pre-treatment. Ensiling at earlier stage of 40 DAT is acceptable either with addition of molasses (5 and 10 percent) or corn grit (10 and 20 percent) as reflected by low pH and good levels of crude protein. Results of the feeding trial using growing goats fed with rice forage silage (RFS) in combination with stargrass tended to show that those diets could barely provide enough nutrients for maintenance even with concentrate supplementation. Palatability of RFS appeared to be one of the problems associated with the feeding experiment. The RFS used in the goat experiment was of low quality as reflected by the high pH at level of 5.8. Supplementation of RFH at 20 percent of the estimated dry matter (DM) intake to grazing-lactating cows did not induce any observable and significant changes in total milk production and peak milk production in terms of actual and fat-corrected milk yield. This may be due to the high levels of dry matter available in the pasture (17.4 to 34.0 percent DM) which could satisfy the requirements of grazing-lactating cows, including the concentrate offered. The intake of RFH supplementation was very low (450 + 160 g/head/day). Likewise, no significant effect of RFH supplementation on milk fat content and occurrence of post-partum estrus was detected.