PRODUCTION OF FORAGE AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE LEGUMIN (Gliricidia sepium) Jacq. IN BUGABA, PANAMA.

Abstract

The evaluation was conducted in Gariche, District of Bugaba, Province of Chiriqui, during a period of 18 months for the purpose of characterizing the production of forage, chemical composition and digestibility “in vitro” of the dry material of edible material (leaf and soft stem) and fuelwood yield at intervals of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 months in stakes of a live bale fence (Gliricidia sepium). Five stakes were used, with an average height of 2.0 m and a diameter of 16.7 cm for each interval of cut. The cutting intervals affected significantly (P<0.01) the annual yield of dry bale material. The maximun yield (DM/tree/year) of the leaf fraction (2.2 kg) and soft shoot (2.28 kg) coincided within the interval of four months, while the higher fuelwood (4.81 kg) and total yield (7.45 kg) coincided at seven months. The higher proportion of edible material was obtained at five months (86.0%). The leaf digestibility (50.67%) was higher than that of the soft shoot (34.93%); the crude protein was also higher for the leaf (21.13%) than for the soft shoot (13.38%). The mineral content had few variation between fractions for cut intervals effect.