Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xfwgj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-20T12:32:05.015Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effect of different stocking rates on the weight gain of Ankole steers on natural grassland in Western Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. D. Thornton  and
G. N. Harrington
D. D. Thornton
Affiliation:
Animal Health Research Centre, Ministry of Animal Industry, Game and Fisheries, P.O. Box 24, Entebbe
G. N. Harrington
Affiliation:
Animal Health Research Centre, Ministry of Animal Industry, Game and Fisheries, P.O. Box 24, Entebbe
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Stocking rates of 3, 6 and 9 acres per 2- to 3-year old steer on Acacia-Cymbopogonj Themeda complex pasture in Ankole, Uganda, demonstrated that 3 acres per head gave significantly lower individual live-weight gains, but that there was little difference between 6 and 9 acres over a 6-year period. Although cattle grazed at 3 acres averaged only 175 lb per head per annum, compared with 207 lb at 6 acres per head, the income was Sh. 34 per acre compared to only Sh. 20–50 at 6 acres per head. At 9 acres/head the return was Sh. 13–50 an acre.

A comparison of a 2 paddock/1 herd system with continuous grazing revealed no differences in production, despite the heavier capital investment involved in the former system. Growth rates at all three stocking rates were similar for most of the year, but in the dry season when all the cattle lost weight those stocked at 3 acres per head suffered the greatest losses (50–60 lb) and those at 9 acres per head the least (20–30 lb).

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 76 , Issue 1 , February 1971 , pp. 97 - 106
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Harrington, G. N. (1968). The effect of picloram on Acacia hockii de Wild, when applied in different months, different times of day and in different formulations. Proc. Qth Br. Weed control Gonf.Google Scholar
Harrington, G. N. & Thornton, D. D. (1969). A comparison of controlled grazing and manual hoeing as a means of reducing the incidence of Cymbopogon a fronardus Stapf in Ankole pastures, Uganda. E. afr. agric. For. J. 35, 154–59.Google Scholar
Langdale-Brown, I. (1960). The Vegetation of the Western Province of Uganda. Uganda Department of Agriculture, Memoirs of Besearch Division, series 2, no. 4.Google Scholar
Langdaxe-Brown, I., Osmaston, H. A. & Wilson, J. G. (1964). The vegetation of Uganda. Entebbe: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Long, M. I. E., Thornton, D. D. & Marshall, B. (1969). Nutritive value of grasses in Ankole and the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. 11. Crude protein, crude fibre and soil nitrogen. Trop. Agric., Trin. 64, 31–42.Google Scholar
West, O. (1965). Fire in Vegetation and Its Uses in Pasture Management with Special Reference to Tropical and Subtropical Africa. Commonw. Bur. Past. Field Crops, Hurley. (Mimeo.).Google Scholar
Wheeler, J. L. (1962). Experimentation in grazing management. Herb. Abstr. 23, 1–7.Google Scholar