Appraisal of Spatial Distribution and Fibre Degradability of Cereal–Legume Fodders to Enhance the Sustainability of Livestock Feed Supply in Sub-Tropics

Fodder scarcity, inadequate nutritional quality, and lack of degradation kinetics research are among the serious concerns hindering sustainable development of livestock globally. Rumen degradation kinetics data on neutral detergent fibre (NDF) in buffaloes are lacking for most tropical forage species. This study evaluated the effect of forage species, family, and growing location on NDF concentration and in situ degradability of six tropical cereal and four legume fodder crops. The fodder crops were grown following uniform recommended agronomic practices at three different agroecological locations and harvested at the appropriate growth stage: cereals at booting and legumes at 50% flowering. Later, the dried ground forage samples were incubated in the four rumen-cannulated Nili-Ravi buffalo cows in a four × two × three split-plot design for 0, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48, 96, and 168 h. The degradation fractions and degradability, expressed either on an NDF or dry matter basis, were considerably affected by forage family (cereal vs. legume) and growing locations and their interaction. Legume fodders degraded more rapidly but to a lesser extent than cereal fodders. The chemical components, notably the NDF, showed a significant but moderate negative relationship with the effective NDF degradability. Among studied fodders, the legumes had a significantly lower NDF concentration and subsequent degradability than the cereals. Although the cereals showed a slower rate of NDF degradation, their overall degradability was higher. The agro-climatic variability among three locations strongly impacted the NDF concentrations and fractions in the tropical forages. Effective NDF degradability was also correlated with the fodders’ NDF concentration, especially in cereals where the nature of the correlation was negative. In conclusion, the nutritional composition and NDF degradation parameters of the fodders were significantly affected by the species, family, and location of growth and their interactions. These results will help to improve agronomy and usage of these important fodder crops.