Effect of season on the quality of forages selected by sheep in citrus plantations in Ghana

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing the effects of season on chemical composition of forages selected by sheep grazing in a citrus plantation. Forage species growing in a sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) plantation were identified and sampled monthly for 2 years. Samples were bulked on monthly basis for chemical analysis. The average dry matter content of the forages increased from the rainy to the dry season but effects of season on the chemical components were inconsistent. Some species, such as Asystasia gangetica, had a higher crude protein concentration in the dry season, whereas for others, such as Panicum repens, the reverse occurred. However, average concentrations of crude protein, detergent fiber and components of fiber for all species for the rainy season were not significantly different from the dry season values. It was concluded that there were differences among forage species in their responses to changing seasons, such that grazing ruminants may select a diet to enable them to meet their nutritional requirements, provided forage biomass is adequate. ResumenEn una plantación de naranjos (Citrus sinensis) se evaluaron los efectos de la época del año sobre la composición quí-mica de las plantas seleccionadas por ovejas pastando la vegetación espontánea en la plantación. Cada mes y durante 2 años se identificaron las especies consumidas y se tomaron muestras para análisis químico. El contenido promedio de materia seca de los forrajes se incrementó de la época lluviosa hacia la época seca, pero el efecto en los otros componentes químicos no fue consistente. Algunas especies, como Asystasia gangetica, presentaron una mayor concentración de proteína cruda durante la época seca, mientras que en otras especies, p.ej. Panicum repens, ocurrió lo contrario. En la época de lluvias las concentraciones promedio de proteína cruda, fibra detergente y componentes de la fibra en todas las especies no fueron significativamente diferentes de los valores de la estación seca. Se concluye que las diferencias encontradas entre las especies en sus respuestas a los cambios de estación les permiten a los animales en pastoreo seleccionar una dieta adecuada para satisfacer sus necesidades nutricionales, siempre y cuando la cantidad de la biomasa forrajera ofrecida sea adecuada.

Monitoring of forage and nutrition before and after reintroduction of banteng (Bos javanicus d’ Alton, 1823) to Salakphra Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand

“…Mineral (mg l -1 , n = 3 www.nature.com/scientificreports/ Nitrogen content in plants did not change between seasons which may be because the plant cells in dry season contained higher water content than wet season which affected the total N or crude protein 43 . Therefore, the N of banteng dung in the breeding cage and natural habitat in both dry and wet seasons was not different.…”

Nutritional Quality of Indigenous Legume Browse in the Southern Ethiopia: Farmers’ Preference and Correlation of Local Valuation of Feed Value with Scientific Indicators

“…The values of hemicellulose reported in the study were far lower than the values reported in eastern Ethiopia (Derero and Kitaw, 2018) probably due to the season and harvesting stage. Various studies indicated that the chemical composition of the fodder trees varied with the phonological stage (Balehegn and Hintsa, 2015) and harvesting season (Abebe et al, 2012;Adjorlolo et al, 2014;Yayneshet et al, 2009). The NDF and ADF values reported for Acacia abyssinica and Erythrina abyssyinica in the study were lower and higher, respectively, than the values found in western Ethiopia (Yisehak and Janssens, 2013), unlike their ADL values.…”

Nutritional Quality of Indigenous Legume Browse in the Southern Ethiopia: Farmers’ Preference and Correlation of Local Valuation of Feed Value with Scientific Indicators

“…The values of the hemicellulose reported in the study were far lower than the values reported in eastern Ethiopia (Derero and Kitaw, 2018) probably due to the season and harvesting stage. Various studies indicated that the chemical composition of the fodder trees varied with the phonological stage (Balehegn and Hintsa, 2015) and harvesting season (Abebe et al, 2012;Adjorlolo et al, 2014;Yayneshet et al, 2009). The NDF and ADF values reported for Acaccia abyssinica and Erythrina abyssyinica in the study were lower and higher respectively than the values found in western Ethiopia (Yisehak and Janssens, 2013), unlike their ADL values.…”