Selection of Study area and Contract Farmers A survey was performed among the villagers from the different unions under Kanaighat and Jaintapurupazila, Sylhet, Bangladesh. A prepared questionnaire was used to evaluate the socioeconomic status of the villagers. Farmers who have a minimum of five cattle, have a pond nearby and interested to improve their animal management system to develop their cattle stock were selected.
Training to the Farmers A day-long training program was organized at Jingabari and Darbast union Parishad complex of Kanaighat and Jaintapurupazila respectively. All Farmers, selected according to survey, gathered together in the training program.
Preparation of Floating bed Seven floating beds in Jaintapur, four in Kanaighat and one at Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU) campus, was prepared according to Islam et al. The size of each floating bed was nearly about 18.5sqm (200 square feet) but the shape of each floating bed was varied with the shape of the pond on which a bed was floated. Materials required for a floating bed were bamboo, plastic net, banana plant, soil, cow dung, water hyacinth, rope, and knife. A bamboo frame was prepared and covered with a plastic net. Four pieces of mature banana plants were fixed below the bamboo frame for primary floating management of the bamboo frame. In some beds, empty plastic water bottles were used as an alternative to the banana trees to float the bed for a long time. Water hyacinths were stocked on the floating bamboo frame with around one feet height to make the first layer of the floating bed. Then the top layer of the floating bed about 3 inches was prepared with soil and cow dung.
Fodder Plantation on the Floating bed German and Dhal grass was found as suitable for FB fodder cultivation. Cuttings of German and Dhal grasses were prepared. Each cutting contained three complete internodes with four nodes. The cuttings were planted alternatively on row by row. The distance of one row to another was about 0.25m. German grasses were planted on four floating beds and Dhal grasses were planted on three floating beds at Jaintapur. Among the four floating bed with German grass, two were used with a plastic bottle instead of Banana plant. The floating beds at Jaintapur were constructed from July to September when there was flood water available in this area. In Kanaighat only German grass was planted. Among the four-floating bed, two were constructed in October, that is the late rainy season and two were constructed in December, i.e. in the winter and dry season to check the production difference in the different seasons. One floating bed was constructed at SAU campus with German grass in the rainy season.
Care and Management of Floating Bed Fodder Cultivation There was regular check-up of the bamboo frames that were supporting the structure of the floating bed. The beds were always kept enough away from the pond bank to secure the beds from cattle.
Determination of Water Quality of the Floating Bed The water sample was collected from the ponds where the floating bed was constructed. Two 300ml biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) bottle was filled with the sample water. One bottle was kept for measuring dissolved oxygen (DO) and another one was incubated at room temperature in a dark place for five days. One ml of manganese sulfate was added to the bottle by pipetting. One ml of freshly prepared solution of potassium hydroxide and potassium iodide was then added. The bottle was shaken to mix the reagents and allowed to stay for five minutes. Light yellow colored precipitate was produced to indicate the presence of dissolved oxygen. One ml of concentrated sulphuric acid was added into the BOD bottle and shaken vigorously to mix it well and waited for twenty minutes. After that, a hundred ml of water from BOD bottle was taken into a conical flask and 5-6 drops of the freshly prepared starch solution were added. The solution was then titrated by using 0.025 N sodium thiosulfate drop by drop from the burette. The color changed from blue to coller less indicates the titration point. The initial and final burette reading was then calculated to measure the DO of water. After 5 days, the incubated bottle was then tested by the discussed procedure to measure the DO of the incubated BOD bottle. The difference between the DO of the first day and DO after 5 days indicate the BOD of the water sample.
Sample Collection and Fodder Production Evaluation: Samples from floating bed among the farmers of Kanaighat and Jaintapurupazila were collected for the study of present research work for production, microbial and nutritional evaluation. Similarly, three local grasses namely Durba, Binna, and Katu, grown naturally in Kanaighat and Jaintapur area, were collected. All the German and Dhal grasses were harvested by cutting at the fourth node (between fourth and fifth internodes) from the base/root. For local grasses, only the Aerial part was collected. Fodders produced on 1sqm space were taken and weighed to evaluate production performance. Spring balance of 20kg was used for this purpose. Then the collected fodders were shifted to the Biochemistry laboratory of SAU for nutritional analysis.