Utilization of Swamp Forages From South Kalimantan on Local Goat Performances

Forages in swamp area consist of grass and legumes that have good productivity and nutrient quality. This research was aimed to evaluate the potency of swamp forage on digestibility and performance of goats. There were 24 local male goats aged 10-12 months with initial body weight of 13.10±1.55 kg, allocated into 6 treatments. Those were control (R0): 60% grass and 40% legumes; (R1): 60% swamp forages and 40% concentrate; (R2): 100% swamp forages; (R3): 100% swamp forage hay; (R4): 100% swamp forage silage; (R5): 100% haylage swamp forages. Results showed that silage treatment significantly increased (P<0.05) consumption and digestibility. Swamp forages could be utilized well by preservation (silage, hay, and haylage). Ensilage of swamp forages increased protein content from 13.72% to 14.02%, protein intake (74.62 g/d), dry matter intake (532.11 g/d), nitrogen free extract intake (257.39 g/d), with total body weight gain (3.5 kg) in eight weeks and average daily gain (62.60 g/d). It is concluded that ensilage of swamp forages (R4) is very potential to be utilized as forage source for ruminants such as goats.


INTRODUCTION
Forage feed is necessary, either quantitatively or qualitatively, in ruminant production systems (Fernandes, 2007). Ruminants mostly consume forage but its availability in quantity and quality is limited. Swamp forage, containing grass (mainly Kumpai Batu and Kumpai Minyak) and legumes (mainly Beberasan and Pipisangan), grow well in swamp area and potential as feed source for Kalang buffalo, cattle, and goats.
South Kalimantan has a swamp land area of 210,489 ha, potential for the development of agriculture, fisheries and livestock, because it is supported by the availability of vast land, flat topography and abundant water (Mariana, 2011). Swamp land keeps potential fodder for animal husbandry, mainly ruminant feed. The swamp forage has high productivity and nutrients and can be used for animal feed (Fariani & Eviyati, 2008).
Swamp forage in the South Kalimantan has 18 types of forage consisted of Oryza rufipogon, Hymenachne amplexicaulis, Ipomea sp, Altenanthera sesilis, Ludwigia adscendens (L). H. Hara, Ipomea aquqtica and other. However, some forages are dominant with high production and quality of nutrients, namely Kumpai Batu, Kumpai Minyak, Beberasan and Pipisangan. Grass variety and production found in the area were Kumpai Batu (Ishaemum polystachyum J. Press), 9.45 ton/ha/season, Kumpai Minyak (Hymenagnechne amplexiacalis (Rudge) Nees), 11.3 ton/ha/season; Pipisangan (Jussicea linifolia Vahl), 9.144 ton/ha/season; and Beberasan (Persicaria barbata (L) H. Hara), 9.5 ton/ha/seson. However, the potency of this swamp forage is not enough to cover the need of forage during dry season (Rostini et al., 2014).  (Rostini et al., 2014). Utilization of swamp forage mainly for Kalang buffalos that are reared in the area based on the seasons, rainy or dry seasons. The use of swamp forage by other ruminants such as goats was not as much as for buffalos. Goats are a potential producer of small ruminants in Indonesia (Budisatria et al., 2010). Goats are able to consume feed with high CF and low CP better than sheep (Alcaida et al., 2003). The objectives of the research were to evaluate the utilization of swamp forage in the goat rations and its effect on digestibility and performance of goats.   Table 3. Diets were given 3.5% DM of goat body weight.

This
Diets were served at 08.00 and 15.00 daily, were weighed each morning and drinking water was provided ad libitum. Body weight was measured weekly in the morning before feeding and drinking water, using Salter scale (50±0.1 kg capacity). Parameters measured were feed intake, nutrient digestibility, average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency (FE)

Feces Collection
Collecting of feces was done for seven days at the end of 8 th week of experimental period. During the experiment, each goat was kept in an individual metabolic cage. Feces was collected using fine wire strainer put under each cage and weighed daily in the morning. Daily 10% of samples were taken and composited in a plastic bag and kept in a refrigerator for further analysis.

Chemical and Statistical Analysis
Feed samples, and feces were oven dried in 60 o C for 48 h, ground using Willey grinder with 1.0 mm strainer then samples were put in plastic bag and kept for analysis. Analyses of dry matter, ash, crude protein, ether extract, crude fiber, and tannin were conducted according to procedures of AOAC (2003). Data were analyzed for variance and any significant difference was detected using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) according to Steel & Torrie (1993).

Nutrient Intakes
Preservation of swamp forage showed the significant effect (P<0.05) on nutrient intakes (Table 4). This suggested that the swamp forage palatability improved with senilage, with softer texture than the fresh form. Goetsch et al. (2010) stated that feed intake was influenced by the shape and physical properties of the feed, and chemical composition of the feed. Ensilage has been proven to improve the quality of the physical properties and forage legumes (Baubaker et al., 2006).
Dry matter intake (DMI) according to NRC (2007) for goats with 10-20 kg of body weight was 200-480 g/d; which was 1.9%-5.5% lower than those found in this study. The DMI in other studies was around 434-560 g/d (Suparjo et al., 2011), while the DMI in the present    (R1), and with swamp forage silage (R4) were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those of fresh swamp forage (R2), hay (R3), and haylage (R5). These mean that diet containing legume or concentrate in combination with swamp forage as well as swamp forage silage was more palatable than the others. Santoso & Hariadi (2008) reported that forage silage was more palatable due to a softer texture. Aregheore (2006), feed intake is influenced by the physical properties and nutrient composition of feed. Protein intake of diet containing combination of concentrate and swamp forage silage was significantly higher (P<0.05) than those of R2, R3, and R5 (Table 4). Protein intake ranged from 55.51-74.62 g/d, which was comparable to the standard of protein intake by NRC that was around 56-58 g/d (NRC, 2007) for goats with body weight 13-15 kg. Protein intake is crucial for optimum production (in this case daily weight gain) and reproduction. Sunarso (2012) stated that protein required for maintenance depends on diet type, protein quality, energy level and animal's condition. These results were confirmed by the data of DM digestability (Table 5); that R0, R1, R4 and R5 were significantly higher (P<0.05) than R2 and R3. Degradability rate might affect digestibility and intake of dry matter (Lewis & Emmans, 2010).
Fiber intake of haylage (R5) was significantly (P<0.05) lower than that of 60% grass + 40% leguminose local diet (R0). This difference was due to their different textures affected by preservation that eventually decreased fiber contents and increased palatability of the diets (Tabel 3). Total intake of diet was affected by some factors such as feed ingredients composition as well as its texture (Van Soest, 2002). Goats require fiber for activity and normal rumen function. Fiber is degraded by microbes to yield energy for maintenance, growth, reproduction, and lactation (Lu et al., 2005).
Intake of nitrogen free extract (NFE) in this study was about 184.77-258.47 g/d and statistically (P<0.05) different among treatments; with R3 (hay) was the lowest and R4 (silage) being the highest. Low level of NFE indicated low levels of dry matter and protein but high in fiber. The NFE content gives a rough idea of the amount of carbohydrate and sugar of feed ingredients (Alcaidae et al., 2003).

Nutrient Digestibility of Swamp Forage
The digestibility of silage swamp forage treatment (R4) was a little higher than fresh swamp forage (R2) but not significantly different (P>0.05) compared with the R1 treatment (forage + concentrate). Swamp forage in the form of hay (R3) did not differ from haylage (R5) or fresh swamp forage (R2). However, these results   were not much different from the research reported by Wirawan et al. (2012) that the digestibility of dry matter of goats fed native grass was 64.6%-68.5%. The higher dry matter digestibility of ration with (R4) was caused by higher feed consumption and higher protein content (14.02%) but lower in lignin. Setianah et al. (2004) stated that the increase of ration protein will increase and stimulate the development rate and population of rumen microbes so that the dry matter digestion will be higher. Suparjo et al. (2011) reported that digestibility of goats fed fermented ration had higher dry matter digestibility than that those fed unfermented ration. This was the effect of the changes of the feed that was more fermentable leading to the increase of fiber digestion. Van et al. (2005) stated that fermented feed with L. plantarum was able to lower lignin and increased protein. The reduced lignin content increasing the microbes ability to degrade celulose, hemicelulose and other components. Van_Hao & Linden (2001) described that to increase digestibility of ration, needs to do physical and biological treatments to make it more palatable.

Dry matter
Digestibility of crude protein in this study ranged from 64.6%-70.4%. Digestibility of crude protein was similar to the digestibility of dry matter, where the diet R3 treatment significantly (P<0.05) lower than other treatments. The decrease in protein digestibility is closely related to dry matter intake and feed intake of protein, where the protein content of fresh swamp forage was lower than other treatments. NFE digestibility of this study was 63.2%-73.4% and significantly different (P<0.05). NFE digestibility is influenced by the composition of the feed, livestock species, age and feed composition ratio (Tillman et al., 1998). Digestibility of NFE differ between treatments, the highest in the treatment of R1 at 73.5% while the lowest was 63.2% in the R2. Different NFE digestibility in feed treatments because there is differences on source of starch concentrates McDonald et al. (2002) stated that the different sources of carbohydrate in the diet will affect the NFE digestibility.
Digestibility of crude fiber in this study was 65.7%-72.6% (Tabel 5) and statistically different (P<0.05) among treatments. Goats fed silage and haylage had higher digestibility by 8.8% and 3.5% respectively, compared to those given fresh forage, hay (R3). The results of this study were much higher than goats fed native grass with average digestibility of 66.9% (Wirawan et al., 2012) whereas goats fed fermented rice straw had average digestibility 63.2% (Novita et al., 2006). This is due to the fermentation process loosen fibers bond lignin and hemicellulose, making them easier to be digested. Digestibility of lignin can be increased after treatment (fermentation), as the materials that undergo fermentation processes become more soluble so that the digestibility of cell wall becomes faster. Table 5 showed that the ration digestibility of silage and haylage (R4 and R5) was better than other treatments. This is most likely due to the higher protein content and lignin content due to cell wall degradation during the bioprocess.  reported that digestibility of fiber fractions in goats fed fermented diet were 57.85% and 51.15% for the digestibility of NDF and ADF, respectively. NDF digestibility became an important parameter in predicting the quality of feed ingredients (Iyayi et al., 2004). Luo et al. (2004) reported digestibility of fiber fractions in goats was 70.0% NDF, 60.0% ADF and 71.3% cellulose.

Swamp Forage
Goats fed silage swamp forage (R4) produced the heaviest live weight (P>0.05), compared with control. The low ADG of R2 treatment-related to protein, TDN and low digestibility and allegedly less balanced absorbed nutrients or due to high lignin in the forage. Rubanza et al. (2003) reported that the network of plant cell wall lignin compounds bound carbohydrates (cellulose and hemicellulose) into complex compounds that are not easily digested by animals and therefore could not provide an optimal body weight gain. Tarigan & Ginting (2011) reported that the body weight gain of goats fed the passion fruit peel silage showed daily gain of 64.9 g/d while those given fresh fruit skin the daily gain was 41.6 g/ d.
Average daily gain (ADG) or growth is an indicator of nutrient deposition process in the body. Growth is defined as the change in the scale and shape as well as an increase in body mass livestock (Mulligan et al., 2001).
Daily gain of goats fed silage swamp forage (R4) was significantly higher compared with those fed fresh forage (R0) and fresh swamp forage (R2) but not significantly different with forage plus concentrate (R1). This is in line with the consumption of dry matter and digest-  et al. (2009) who stated that the form of animal feed influenced the performance of animals. If the quality of animal feed consumed is better, the body weight gain will be higher. Toharmat et al. (2006) stated that the type of feed can affect dry matter intake and consumption of other nutrients which in turn will affect the performance of livestock. Feed efficiency (FE) indicates the amount of body weight gain produced from 1 kg of feed. Swamp forage feed efficiency are presented in Table 6. The highest efficiency of feed utilization showed in goats fed silage (R4). This showed that forage preserved in the form of silage was more efficient than the fresh swamp forage swamp (R2) and in dry form (R3). This may be related to the amount of the absorbed nutrients or nutrient content in the feed. Fedele et al. (2002) stated that feed was efficient if it was consumed in small amounts but able to produce high body weight gain.

CONCLUSION
Preserving swamp forages into silage produces the highest digestibility, the highest weight gain, and the best feed efficiency. Swamp forage silage is potential to be used as a substitute for any local forages for goats.