The effect of giving fresh (FCL), ensiled (ECL) or sun-dried (SDC) cassava leaves as
supplements in a diet based on paragrass was studied in an experiment with 8 local male goats in
CelAgrid (UTA-Cambodia). The three forms of cassava leaves were fed as supplements to growing
goats fed a basal diet of fresh paragrass, according to a replicated 4*4 Latin square arrangement.
There was a tendency for intake of DM to be higher for the treatments with ensiled and sundried
cassava leaves compared with fresh leaves and the control of unsupplemented para grass. N
intakes were higher for the treatments with ensiled and sun-dried cassava leaves than for the treatment
with fresh leaves and the control. There were no differences in apparent digestibility of DM and
organic matter among the treatments, but digestibility of the nitrogenous components was higher on
the control diet of unsupplemented para grass than on the diets with cassava leaves.
There appear to be no problems of toxicity with feeding of cassava leaves to goats, when it is
given in fresh, dried or ensiled form. However, a period (at least 10 days) of gradual adaptation to
cassava foliage is recommended. There appeared to be no advantages in feed intake, digestibility and N
retention in goats, from supplementing para grass with cassava leaves. However, the short term nature
of the experiment and possible carryover effects, due to the crossover design, and the apparent high
nutritive value of the grass, could have been the cause of the lack of response.