Comparative Performance of Five Maize Varieties as Livestock Feed in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia

The performance of five maize varieties as livestock feed in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia was assessed. The varieties included in this study were one released open pollinated variety - Melkassa-2 - one released hybrid - BH-140 - and three candidate hybrids - MH-130, MHQ-138, and SC-403. The quantity of stover produced was poorly correlated to maize grain yield (r = 0.47; P < 0.001) and no difference in grain yield and stover production was found among the five varieties. Stem was the morphological fraction with the lowest crude protein (CP) concentration (mean value of 22 g kg-1 DM) and the highest neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration (mean value of 852.5 g kg-1 DM). Leaf blade was the fraction with the highest CP concentration (mean value of 50.9 g kg-1 DM) and the lowest NDF concentration (mean value of 564.7 g kg-1 DM). MHQ-138 was found to have the lowest proportion of stem (53%) and the highest proportion of leaf blade (26%). Conversely, BH-140 was found to have the highest proportion of stem (66%) and the lowest proportion of leaf blade (19%). This resulted in significant differences between varieties in their total stover NDF content (P < 0.1): SC403 and BH-140 were the varieties with the highest NDF concentrations (mean Value of 717 gkg-1 DM for both) and MH-130, MHQ-138 and Melkassa-2were the varieties with the lowest (mean value of 684, 692 and 695 g kg-1 DM, respectively). The present data indicated variation on proportion of morphological fractions among varieties resulted in variation nutritive values between maize varieties suggesting possibility of considering maize varieties being both high yielding and producing stover with good nutritional value.