CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

One of the primary objectives of the animal enterprise is to produce great quality feeds

for both in benefit addition and to meet the population needs of animal protein. The ideal way

to outreach the desired result is to improve the animal feed. The better the quality of the feed,

the better the productivity of farm animals.

Boehmeria nivea from the family Urticaceae(CIDTA,2005),has herbaceous stems which

grow up to 3 m of height and leaves with hairs on the underside, from which a textile fiber

more resistant than flax is obtained and used alone or mixed in the manufacturing of fabrics

and for other purposes, such as:irrigation hoses, non-combustible fabrics, banknotes, gas

lamp mantles and parachutes.The ramie plant is also a source of nutritious green feed. Ramie

is palatable to all classes of domestic livestock. The leaves and tops, unlike the stems, have a

low fibre content and are rich in protein,minerals,lysine and carotene. The nutritive value of

has been described as similar to that of lucerne, which it can, however, greatly outyield. When

ramie is grown fodder, up to fourteen cuttings a year can be taken from established crops,

yielding as much as 300 tons of freash materia(42 tons dry matter) per hectare per year. The

follage is palatable and has proved to be of value not only to stock but also to pigs and

poultry.The only problem associated with feeding the ramie is its high mineral uptake,

especially molybdenum on soils rich in this element; this can be corrected by adding

appropriate levels of copper sulphate to the diet.(Cleasby et al.,1958).