CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF WEEDS AS POTENTIAL FORAGE IN INTEGRATED FARMING

NORLINDAWATI A.P.*, HARYANI H., SABARIAH B., MOHAMAD NOOR I., SAMIJAH A., MOHD SUPIE J. AND ZUL EDHAM W.

The purpose of this study is to determine the chemical composition of weeds in an oil palm plantation aged 8 and 10 years with the aim of assessing their potential as forage for beef cattle. Data collection was conducted in a cattle-oil palm integrated farming in FELCRA Batu 3? Paloh, Johor, in two different years, 2016 and 2018, when the plantation was 6 and 8 years old, respectively. Both samplings (October 2016 and August 2018) were obtained from the same plot Each sampling was from ten randomly picked points using a quadrant size of 0.5 m ? 0.5 m. The results showed three dominant weeds growing on oil palm plantations in 2016: Paspalum conjugatum (buffalo grass), Asystasia gangetica (Asystasia grass) and Axonopus compressus (carpet grass). In 2018, there were two dominant weed species found during the sampling process: Ottochloa nodosa (slender panic grass or rumput pait in Malay) and Asystasia gangetica (Asystasia grass). Determination of chemical composition showed that average crude protein increased from 19.0% at aged 8 years to 21.9% at aged 10 years, while average crude fibre decreased from 24.4% at the aged 8 years to 23.4% at aged 10 years. Naturally, weeds in oil palm plantations showed is a good potential source of forage for beef cattle.