Nutritive values of seven high priority indigenous fodder tree species in pastoral and agro-pastoral areas in Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Indigenous tree and shrub species are critical feed resources for the pastoralist and agro-pastoralist areas in Ethiopia. Nutritional and mineral composition of seven high priority leguminous indigenous tree species, (Acacia nilotica, Acacia tortilis and Tamarindus indica) and non-leguminous species (Berchemia discolour, Cordia sinensis, Dobera glabra and Ziziphus spina-christi) were characterized to inform decisions on the species utilization and domestication. Method: Data on a total of 17 nutritional factors were generated on leaf samples from 10 to 12 trees per species following standard lab procedures. Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance among species and types, and Spearman correlations between the nutritional factors were conducted. Results: Result showed that there were significant differences among the species for all chemical compositions and mineral contents except for iron. The leguminous species had significantly higher mean dry matter, organic matter, lignin and in vitro digestible organic matter in dry matter, whereas the non-leguminous species had significantly higher mean total ash, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and hemi-cellulose. Similarly, the leguminous species had significantly higher mean iron, whereas the non-leguminous species had significantly higher mean macro-minerals, Mn and Zn. Across all the species and samples analysed, the majority (69%) of the paired comparisons revealed significant associations among the chemical compositions and digestibility, whereas nearly 54% of the comparisons were significant among the mineral contents. Conclusions: We conclude that the tree species investigated are important sources of protein, energy and minerals, and utilization and domestication should target both the leguminous and non-leguminous types.

Foliar mineral content of five shrub species with nutritional potential for small ruminants in semiarid regions in northeastern Mexico

“…In the present study, the foliar content of K was generally three times the requirement for small ruminants. These results are consistent with those reported by DERERO & KITAW (2018), where potassium was the macromineral with the second highest concentration after Ca in fodder tree species in pastoral and agropastoral areas in eastern Ethiopia. DOMÍNGUEZ-GÓMEZ et al (2014), reported similar results in semi-arid regions in northeastern of Mexico and HABIB et al (2016), in arid and semi-arid rangelands of northern Pakistan and suggested that sodium supplementation, could avoid deficiencies caused by high concentrations of K.…”

“…), which are the most common known uses as documented by ESTRADA-CASTILLÓN et al (2018). Livestock production based on grazing occurs mainly in arid and semi-arid regions, on land traditionally considered unsuitable for crop production, containing woody and shrubs plants relevant as potential fodder source (ESTELL et al, 2012), which contain satisfactory levels of protein and minerals for grazing ruminants, while maintaining or improving grassland availability (RAMÍREZ-ORDUÑA et al, 2005;GUERRERO-CERVANTES et al, 2012;HABIB et al, 2016;DERERO & KITAW, 2018). Many trees and shrubs of leguminous species of the semi-arid regions are used as feed especially due to the behavior in extensive grazing by goats and sheep (SANON et al, 2007) and also by wild ruminants, since shrub species remain green and with a relatively high nutrient content throughout the year (GUERRERO-CERVANTES et al, 2008).…”

Chemical Compositions of Selected Browse Species Used as Goat Feed in Bena-Tsemay district of South Omo, South-Western Ethiopia

“…The higher NDF content of A. toritlis leaves from this study is might be due to harvested leaves samples were at advanced age which had contained more stem parts which is responsible to higher NDF content. The NDF content of A. tortilis leaves in this study was higher than reported value of (338.4g/kg, DM) by [12], but lower than reported value of (506g/kg, DM) by [43]. The NDF content of A. seyal and A. albida leaves in this study were lower than reported values of (684.43g/kg, DM) and (512.8g/kg, DM) by [30], respectively.…”

“…The CP concentration of A. albida leaves in this study was lower than reported values of (201.80g/kg, DM) and (197g/kg, DM) reported by [30] and [31], respectively. The CP concentrations of A. toritlis, A. nilotica and A. senegalensis leaves from this study were lower than reported CP concentrations of (152.9g/kg, 157.6g/kg, 159.3g/kg, DM) by [12], respectively but CP concentration for B. disclour in this study was higher than reported value of (116.4g/kg, DM) by same author. The CP level for C. molle from this study was lower than reported value of (160g/kg, DM) by [32], but CP concentration for G. tenax was higher than value of (93g/kg, DM) by the same author.…”

“…The browse plant species are often have a higher crude-protein and mineral contents in addition to higher dry matter degradability than associated grasses, particularly during the dry season as an important attendant advantage due to a reduced dependence on purchased protein supplements [6][7][8]. In addition, goat keepers in the various range-lands have been known for utilizing the browser species as source feeds for goat (protein, vitamins, and minerals) and traditional medicine for healing and treating diseases and par- asites of goats [9][10][11][12]. Also, the browse species known for prevent desertification over mitigating the effects of droughts, allowing soil fixation and restoring the degraded range-land [13].…”