Can cattle co-exist with a young mango orchard? The mango trees in Haiti are about 5-6 years old. There is existing grass between the rows and the stocking rate will be low. Outside of the cows reaching low hanging fruit and having enough grass so they won’t eat many mango leaves, are there any suggestions?
1 Like
They definitely can. It would be worth it to put them in just a small section and see how they do with the trees; it is very possible that they will eat the trees if they can reach them. It all depends on how much they like the taste of the leaves compared to the grass. If they are taller than the cows, they should be fine, and the cows will prune them to whatever height they can reach. If they are very small (less than 5 feet tall) you may want to protect the trees with some fencing.
There is the potential for them to choke on the mango seeds. At ECHO NA, we run sheep in a mango orchard. They are fine because the seeds are too big for them to swallow, but a cow could. I don’t really think it’s a major concern, but something to be aware of.
2 Likes
It depends on the size of the trees. I know of someone who did this in his orchard and the cows would actually use their front legs to bend a tree over and eat the leaves. Based on the age, they could be past that point.
Safer in Haiti would be to either limit their movement so they cannot touch the trees. In Haiti, that usually means tying them down. Or what we teach in our agroforestry program:
Plant lines of elephant grass in the inter-rows, which is probably the most productive and tolerant species, and then cut and carry the leaves. It’s super easy to multiply and harvest with a machete. There is not a culture of planting upgraded forage grasses in pastures in Haiti, but we are trying to change that by leading with example.
1 Like
Thanks for the info Roger. This aligns with my thoughts. I live in a dairy area in the north and we protect young trees from cattle, not only for the feeding but rubbing up against them and the soil compaction during wet weather. Sheep are not a problem because of their size.
2 Likes