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Biomass yield of maize fodder at different plant density, its preference and digestibility by Sokoto Gudali heifers 1 2 1 Adegbite, J. A., Nwamo, A. C and Olorunnisomo, O. A. 1 Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria 2 National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom. Plateau state. Nigeria. Corresponding author: adurajoe@yahoo.com; +2347032743753 This study was conducted to investigate the effect of plant density on biomass yield of maize fodder, its acceptability and digestibility by Sokoto Gudali heifers. Treatments P1, P2, P3 and P4 correspond to different plant densities of 53,333, 106,666, 210,526 and 421,072 plants/ha, respectively. Each treatment was replicated three times on 4m x 10m plots and fertilizer was applied as100 kg N/ha. Fodder was harvested at 6weeks of age (42 days after planting) and weighed to determine the biomass yield. Samples were also taken for chemical analysis. Harvested fodder were fed to Sokoto Gudali heifers to determine its preference and digestibility. Biomass yield increased significantly (P<0.05) within plant population with P4 (3.55 tons/ha) having the highest yield and P1 (1.61 tons/ha) having the least. Dry matter (DM, 23.64 – 27.22%) and crude protein (CP, 19.75 – 27.50%) of fodder increased as plant population increased while fibre components (ADF, NDF AND ADL) decreased. In this study, an increase in plant density produced more forage yield of very good quality with high dry Matter digestibility and no variation (P>0.05) in the preference by the animal. Keywords; Plant Density, Maize Fodder, Preference, Digestibility, Sokoto Gudali Heifers. Introduction Green fodder is the natural diet for livestock. Its production to meet the current demand has become a great challenge among livestock farmers. Due to many reasons, green fodder production has been facing serious crisis and consequently, livestock productivity. About 97 percent of Nigeria's ruminant animals are dependent on forage and fodder crops for their productivity. Due to increasing intensive system of rearing livestock, the need for green fodder is enormous. As the gap between the demand and supply of the green fodder for livestock is becoming wider, researchers and farmers are in search for an alternative fodder or fodder production method that would restore fodder and livestock production. Maize green forage, particularly when it contains the stalks, leaves and ears, is an energy feed for ruminant livestock and its use for animal feeding is becoming very important especially on small scale mixed farms in the tropics. In areas where conditions are harsh and forage is scarce, maize green forage is a valuable source of fodder for smallholders (Methu et al., 2006). This type of forage contributes up to 24% of the total cattle feed thus making maize production for grain and fodder equally important. Maize forage is nutritious to ruminants and contains appreciable quantity of protein, fat, vitamins and carbohydrates. In the tropics, while grass forages must be harvested almost monthly, maize forage matures within three months, is harvested only once, and does not require much labour and machinery costs (Brewbaker, 2003). Maize forage has been reported to increase productivity of ruminant animals, thereby, increasing their potential contribution to man's supply of meat, in a very cost effective manner (Halima and Chauhan, 2003). For decades, maize growers have worked for continuous improvement and greater efficiency (Singh et al., 2002) and increasing the plant density of maize forage