Influence of the period of year on the chemical composition and digestibility of pasture and fodder selected by goats in caatinga

Abstract

SUMMARY This study aimed to verify the influence of months on chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of pasture and forage selected by goats in the semiarid region of Brazil’s Pernambuco state. Six male goats fistulated in the rumen were used in a completely randomized design. Forage collection was conducted in herbaceous and shrub/tree layers, in order to simulate goat grazing, and materials were separated into leaves and branches. Extrusa and pasture collections were held in November, January and February/March. There was collection month (P <0.05) effect for pasture on dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), with average values of 458.27g/kg NM and 155.46, 521.30 and 390.13g/kg DM, respectively. For the stem (P <0.05) for DM, Organic matter (OM), mineral matter (MM), ethereal stratum (EE), ADF, acid detergent unavailable protein (AIP), total carbohydrates (TCHO) and dry matter in vitro digestibility (DMIVD), with average values of 487.47g/kg NM and 930.80, 69.07, 20.67, 440.30 and 63.78g/kg DM, respectively. About the extrusa, there was collection time effect (P <0.05) on the DM, OM, MM, CP, EE, AIP, TCHO, Non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC) and DMIVD, with average values of 84.53g/kg DM, 863.03, 136.97, 152.90, 33.60, 14.07, 676.37 and 55.35g/kg DM, respectively. Rainfall changes in the rainy season in the caatinga altered pasture quality, causing changes in the diet selected by goats, mainly in DM, CP, CNF and DMIVD.

The inventory of camel feed resource and the evaluation of its chemical composition in south‐east rangelands of Ethiopia

“…Generally, the mean IVDMD showed significant higher value for the foliage sampled in the wet season (p < .01), apart from A. asak which was more digestible in dry season, while the IVDMD of A. mellifera, D. microphylla, E. divinorum, I. donaldsonii, L. rivae and R. ruspolii was insignificantly varied with season (p < .01) (Table 3). Seasonal effect in IVDMD is in concordance with findings of Silva et al, (2017) and Abebe et al, (2012) in semi-arid regions. The mean IVDMD content found for both seasons was lower than results…”

Value of endemic legumes for livestock production on Caatinga rangelands

“…Native legumes have great crude protein content; however, part is often bound to fibrous fractions, resulting in low digestibility (Silva et al, 2017). In addition, the presence of condensed tannins (Table 5), as well as anti-nutritional compounds may inhibit palatability and digestibility to ruminants.…”

“…Thus, legume contribution to ruminant diet quality improvement becomes more noticeable in the dry season. During these months, forage grasses provide livestock low crude protein and high fiber content which results in low digestibility (Silva et al, 2017). Ruminants can reduce this nutritional deficiency by ingesting greater proportions of legumes in dry season.…”

Intake, performance, carcass traits and meat quality of goats grazing in the Caatinga rangeland

“…Native plants from the Caatinga have potential for feeding ruminants, according to the available forage supply (Pinto et al, 2019), as well as their chemical composition, in which the leaves of the herbaceous and tree extract present values of crude protein from 162.5 to 169.6 g kg DM -1 (M. J. S. , and specifically in the case of mororó (Bauhinia cheilanta Bong Stend) and jitirana (Merremia aegyptia L. Urban) with crude protein values of 115.0 to 171.9 g kg DM -1 (Lacerda, Silva, Linhares, Maracajá, & Pinto, 2015;Santos et al, 2017). Associated with these, spineless cactus (Opuntia or Nopalea) can be used, which has a high concentration of non-fibrous carbohydrates (547 g kg DM -1 ), total carbohydrates (834 g kg DM -1 ), and dry matter digestibility (676 g kg DM -1 ).…”