Composition and quality of winter annual agrestal and ruderal herbages of two different land-use types

Abstract

The forage demand in Nepal, particularly in the winter season, could be partially addressed by using agrestal and ruderal herbages considering their easy availability and digestibility. Agrestal and the ruderal herbages in the winter have been traditionally used by livestock keepers as a potential source of forage. The present study was carried out to compare the chemical composition and nutrient quality of wild vetch and other mixed herbages in the fallow and cultivated land for two consecutive years. Six line transects each measuring 100 m were randomly placed 20 m apart at both land use types. Four quadrats of 1 m × 1 m were randomly placed along the transects, and above ground, the herbage was harvested, and then, it was categorized into wild vetch (Vicia sativa L.) and other mixed herbages in each type of land-use, and they were packed in paper bags and subjected to oven drying. The proximate analysis and calculation of some nutritional values were carried out in the laboratory following standard protocols. The findings revealed that wild vetch had higher CP (about 24%) but had lower dry matter productivity (about 90–300 t/ha) than mixed herbage (550–1,400 t/ha). The total digestive nutrients and dry matter digestibility were similar (p = 0.05) in both categories, while the relative feed value (RFV:113–121%) and the relative feed quality (RFQ:120–130%) were found to be higher (p < 0.05) in the mixed herbages. The research results indicated that the utilization of the crop weeds along with the wild vetch would be an applicable practice to overcome the feed deficit in winter as both the wild vetch and mixed herbages showed a considerable relative feed value. The present study further necessitates an examination of the ecological functions of agrestal and ruderals in the abandoned lands in the long run to understand the vegetation shifts and its impact on herbage productivity and quality for livestock.