Intensive fattening of beef cattle on Rhodes grass pastures on the Lilongwe Plain, Malawi.

Beef fattening experiments were conducted in two wet seasons with Malawi zebu (Mz) and Friesian X Malawi zebu (F X Mz) steers grazing nitrogen-fertilised Rhodes grass pastures. The effects of stocking rate (5,7-5 or 10 steers/ha) and level of supplement (maize: madeya (maize bran) fed to steers at either 0-6 or 1-5 per cent of liveweight) were investigated over a 100 day period. Neither stocking rate nor supplement had an effect on daily liveweight gain but gain per hectare increased significantly with stocking rate. Comparative performance of the two breed types showed that the superior absolute gains of the F X Mz steers were not reflected in the efficiency parameters of supplement conversion or gain and carcass yield per unit liveweight. Hindquarter percentage was higher and subcutaneous fat was better distributed in the F X Mz. The practical significance of the results is discussed.