Digestibility of Dry Matter and Organic Matter of Mexican Grass (Euchlaena mexicana) at Various Cut Ages and Fertilizer Doses

Abstrak

 ABSTRACT 

This study aimed to examine the digestibility of dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) of Mexican grass (Euchlanea mexicana) at different cutting ages and fertilizer doses. The research was carried out at Faculty of Animal Husbandry University of Darul Ulum Islamic Centre Sudirman GUPPI Ungaran, while digestibility analysis was carried out at the Animal Feed Science Laboratory, Faculty of Animal Science, Diponegaro University Semarang. The material used was Mexican grass (Euchlanea mexicana) obtained from Sumowono District, Semarang Regency, Central Java. The chemicals used were “McDougall” buffer solution, HCl pepsin solution, CO2 gas, and distilled water. Research used experimental methods. The experimental design used a completely randomized design (CRD) with a 3 3 factorial pattern, with 4 replications. The first factor was the effect of cutting age, namely: (P1) 30 days, (P2), 45 days, and (P3) 60 days. The second factor was the dosage of N fertilizer consisting of (Dl) 150 kg N/ha/year, (D2) 200 kg N/ha/year, (D3) 250 kg N/ha/year. The variables measured were the digestibility of dry matter (MD) and organic matter (OM). The data were processed by analysis of variance and further tested using Duncan’s multiple-area test. The results showed that the longer cutting age treatment decreased sigificantly digestibility of DM and OM. Fertilizer dose treatment not significant for digestibility of DM and OM. Based on the results of the study it can be concluded that the cutting age treatment had more effect on digestibility of DM and OM of Mexican grass. The highest digestibility of DM and OM were achieved at 30 days of cutting age, followed by 45 and 60 days. 

Keywords: Mexican grass, dry matter digestibility, organic matter digestibility