- Main Research interest is “The improvement of rumen forage fermentation in both small and large ruminants, using fibrolytic microbes from both wild and domestic animals” Funded by the Research and Innovation office of the University of Zululand with registration number S1191/13.
This topic is of high interest to me because the demand for meat protein by the ever growing human population is not met by the different livestock production systems. Forage limitation has been linked to be the major setback for increase in ruminant production systems yet forages are abundant in both commercial and communal farms. This is because over 60% of the forages (hay) consumed by ruminants comes out as faeces which implies that it is not being fermented enough to provide the required energy for ruminants. However, this fermentation is not controlled by ruminants but by the microbes they harbour in the rumen, therefore my objectives of the past years has been to manipulate these rumen microbes and environment in other to improve fermentation. This research has been collecting samples from commercial, communal and wild game reserves around the province of KwaZulu-Natal and manipulating them in the Lab in an attempt to find microbes with higher fibrolytic potential. However, I have also been researching on cheap alternative indigenous forages around the University communities that can be used to improve communal livestock production as well as alternative anthelmintics (ethno medicine) for ruminants with the ever increasing drug resistance and environmental pollution worries.
The different subtopics are specific research topics of my interest all registered at the University of Zululand either as an MSc or PhD project:
- Effect of microbial ecosystems from wild herbivores browsing tanniferous plants on Zulu goat rumen fibrolytic activity
- Fibrolytic potential of both wild and domestic herbivores microbial ecosystem
- In vitro evaluation of moisture, nutritional and anthelmintic potential of Kigelia africana fruit to domesticated ruminants
- Effect of Seasonality on Nutrient Availability, foraging Behaviour and Performance by Nguni goats at Ulundi
- Microbial diversity and fibrolytic potential of wild antelopes browsing or grazing at Tala Game Reserve
- Effect of ecological zones and scavengable feed resource base on indigenous chicken production in KwaZulu-Natal