Feed Value of Foliage from Acacia rigidula, Acacia berlandieri and Acacia farnesiana

Abstract

Ramirez, R.G., Gonzalez-Rodriguez, H., Gomez-Mesa, M.V. and Perez-Rodriguez, M.A. 1999. Feed value of foliage from Acacia rigidula, Acacia berlandieri and Acacia farnesiana. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 16: 23–32. The seasonal dynamics of the nutritive value and digestion of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) in leaves of Acacia rigidula, Acacia berlandieri and Acacia farnesiana, native shrubs from northeastern Mexico, was evaluated. Plants were sampled in Linares, N.L. County, during summer, fall and winter of 1995. The in situ technique was used to estimate the effective degradability of DM (EDDM) and CP (EDCP), using rumen fistulated sheep. In general, the in situ digestibility and EDDM and EDCP were higher (P<0.001) in A. farnesiana than in other plants. Moreover, the DM and CP in A. farnesiana was highly degraded in the rumen of sheep, during summer and fall than in winter. There were little differences among seasons in DM or CP degradability between A. berlandieri and A. rigidula. It seems that high level of condensed tannins in leaves of A. rigidula and A. berlandieri had detrimental effects on the DM or CP digestion in the rumen of sheep. Thus, leaves from A. farnesiana may be considered as a good supplement for grazing ruminants.