MATOPOS RESEARCH STATION

Chiredzi Research station,

Henderson Research Station

Matopos Research Station,

Chisumbanji Experiment Station

Horticulture Research Station

Nyanga Experimental Station

Coffee Research Station,

Kadoma Cotton Research station

Save Valley Research Station

Grasslands Research Station,

Makoholi Research Station,

Our mission is to improve the human welfare through poverty alleviation and attainment of food security.  The Station focuses in developing sustainable and environmentally-friendly technologies to improve livestock production through research.

RESEARCH STRATEGY & PARTNERSHIPS

The research is carried out in collaboration with other organizations through consultations, joint planning and execution of programs and information exchange.  Our partners in this endeavor are the farmers, farmer organisation, the extension wing of the Department of Agricultural Research and Extension (formerly AGRITEX and government departments, research institutes, universities, non -governmental organisation (NGOs), agro-industries, international organizations and various donors. The main focus of our research is to improve utilization of rangelands and other feedstuffs, and promote the use of adapted and appropriate livestock resources in semi arid areas.  

Research Areas

Range and Pastures

Livestock Nutrition

Draught Animal Power

Cattle Production

Goat and Sheep Production

Range and Pastures

Rangeland  is the main livestock feed resource.Sustainable llivestock production can be achieved through proper management and utilisation of these rangelands.  On-farm fodder production can also provide additional feed resources for livestock.  Highlights of some studies are presented below:

• Rainfall is the major determinant of production in semi-arid rangelands.  Clear off-take strategies must be in place for drought years.

• Rangelands need time to recover after a drought and this can be achieved through phased restocking or resting the rangelands.

• Grass cover reduces soil loss through reducing the concentration of sediment in runoff water and the volume of run-off.

• Although fires are effective in controlling bush, annual burns result in the replacing of perennial grasses by annual grasses, and consequently reduction in soil cover. Herbaceous basal cover and livestock weight gains are higher under continuous than rotational grazing.

•  Tree size parameters such as stem basal diameter and height, can be used to predict browse biomass.

•  Two fodder varieties (NG-1 and PN-1) suited for semi arid areas were released and seed of these varieties is available for sale at the station.

Up to 10 tonnes of dry matter per hectare of fodder can be produced by the best Napier and Bana grass varieties under dryland conditions.  However, supplementary irrigation can increase biomass yields by more than 30 per cent. Intercropping cereal forages with legumes substantially increases total biomass and quality compared with sole cropping.

Bana grass or sorghum and legume silages can sustain milk production of indigenous and crossbred dairy cattle.

Current work includes:

•  Recovery patterns after subjecting rangeland to various management impacts. Studying livestock responses to spatial variability at an ecosystem level.

•  Use of modelling to predict rangeland production.

• Testing rangeland reclamation techniques on-farm.

• Forage sorghum evaluation.

•  Integration of forage tree legumes into the cereal/legume mixtures.

•  Evaluation of Cactus Pear as feed for livestock in semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe.

Livestock Nutrition

One of the major constraints to livestock production is nutrition.  Grazing is the main fed resource.  However, the quality and quantity of this resource is variable.  The use of other feed resources has been investigated and highlights shown below.

Intake and digestibility in sheep fed sorghum stover with groundnut hay.

•    Dichrostachys. cinerea as a supplement to hay increased protein, hay intake and digestibility of diet by 581 per cent, 12 per cent and 66 per cent, respectively.

• A 1:1 mixture of Acacia karroo (AK) and Acacia nilotica (AN) leaves improved intake, digestibility of DM and nitrogen retention by goats when compared with individual species.

• Sorghum can replace maize grain in feedlot diets.  However, a 1:1 mixture of maize and sorghum is better.

• Quality of stover stored under roof and on raised platform can be maintained longer than unprotected stover.

• Treatment of roughages with urea can increase utilisation.

•  Storage and baling of stover reduces bulkiness and loss of leaf and improves handling.

• Goats showed a greater ability to adapt to grass and browse availability than cattle and were more flexible indicating a greater capacity to cope in different environments.

Current work includes:

The use of ammonium nitrate as a replacement for urea for treatment of roughages.

Draught Animal Power  

cattle are the traditional source of draught animal power (DAP). However there is an increase in the use of donkey sas alternative sources or draught power.Despite this increase there was little information on the draught resource capacity of the donkey and potential of this species.Some basic information on donkeys is shown below has been available.

•  Four donkeys can plough for four hours without signs of fatigue and require about 11 days to plough a 3-ha plot.  This performance is comparable with that of two oxen of similar team weight. 

•  Female donkeys of similar team weight are potentially capable of performing like male donkeys.  However, their performance can be compromised by pregnancy and lactation. 

• When selecting donkeys for work, live weight is more important than body condition.

•  If properly trained to work as a team, mixed cattle and donkey spans are effective, as the species appear to complement each other.

• Mixed spans often perform better than donkey-only spans.

•  Donkeys tend to work better with lighter ploughs, scotch carts and cultivators which are now available on the market. 

•  A modified Breast band harness was developed at the station.

•   Donkeys can maintain feed intake levels even after 3 days without water and are able to minimize water losses from the body.

•  Working donkeys require at least 8 hours of continuous grazing a day or should be provided with energy-rich supplements when to meet their daily energy requirements.

• Donkeys can consume more of a good than poor quality hay.

•  Donkeys consumed more hay when offered maize bran and molasses.

• Donkeys in Zimbabwe are phenotypically similar to those in the region and other parts of Africa.

• There are no major differences in body size between male and female donkeys. Heart girth can be used to accurately estimate live weight of donkeys.  Other body measurements are less accurate.