ASKALE DUBALE2026-04-012017https://etd.hu.edu.et/handle/123456789/1414The study was conducted to assess the experiences of banana and mango residue utilization, and effect of ensiling banana using mango residues as an additive on silage quality and evaluate the effect of feeding banana residues silage on growth performance of sheep. For the diagnostic survey, 120 households (HH) were selected from four banana and mango producing potential kebeles from which 30 respondents were selected to assess utilization of banana and mango residue for sheep feeding. Open ended structured questionnaire, focused group discussions and secondary data were used to collect the required data. For silage quality evaluation the banana and mango residues were collected from the farm at the time of harvest and banana residue was wilted for 8 hours. Five different silages were prepared using different proportion of mango peel and flesh (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10%) and molasses (10, 7.5, 5, 2.5 and 0%) as an additive to banana wilted psudostem and leaf. The ensiling was done with three replicates in buckets and was ensiled for 21 days. The on-farm feeding trial was undertaken to evaluate the effect of feeding banana silage prepared using mango residues and molasses as an additive on the growth performance of indigenous sheep. Eighteen yearling sheep were assigned to three treatments (T1= Grazing, T2=Ensiled Banana using 10% mango residues as additive, T3 = Ensiled Banana residue using 10% molasses as an additive). The sheep were blocked to six and assigned to HHs in Randomized Complete Block Design, each HH contributing three sheep and within a household the three sheep were randomly allocated to the three treatments. Feed and grazing land shortage followed by shortage of input and disease and parasites are the major constraints hindering sheep production. Income followed by saving/asset are the major reasons for keeping sheep. Sampled households prefer sheep than other livestock species because of the expected immediate return, easy to manage and high market demand. Most of the respondents stated that during the wet season natural pasture was the main source of feed for sheep followed by farm side grazing and feeding on rejected banana. During the dry season crop residue followed by road side grazing were the major sources of feed for sheep. All the samples households (100%) across the four kebeles feed banana residues to sheep in a fresh form. The residues (banana and mango) were fed without any improvement. The physical and chemical assessment of the silage showed that making silage from banana using mango residue or molasses as an additive indicates the suitability of silage making from banana and mango residue with good quality. There was no significant difference in feed dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein intake between T2 and T3. The average daily body weight gain was the higher (P<0.05) for sheep fed T2 and T3 diets compared with those based on grazing. In conclusion, banana residue could be ensiled using mango or molasses as an additive with similar performance of sheep. Therefore, due to the availability of mango residue at farmers’ level, mango residue could be used as an additive to make silage from banana residueen-USBanana residuemango residueutilizationsilageintakedaily gainThesis