Influence of deciduous broadleaved woody species in goat nutrition during the dry season in northern Greece

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the diet composition of indigenous goats grazing on native shrubland during the dry season (June – September, 1988) in northern Greece, and also to evaluate the nutritive value of the dominant shrub species, oriental hornbeam ( Carpinus orientalis Mill.) and manna ash ( Fraxinus ornus L.), in digestion trials. The diet of oesophageally fistulated goats was not significantly different in CP content (11.8% vs. 9.8%), in NDF (40% vs. 40%) and in lignin content (8.0% vs. 7.7%) but digestibility of the summer diet was higher (57%; P ⩽ 0.05) than that of the early autumn (53%). In early autumn the animals relied heavily on fallen leaves, which constituted poorer quality forage. CP content of oriental hornbeam and manna ash was 11.0% and 9.6%, respectively, in summer and 8.7% and 8.1% in autumn. N retention evaluated in digestion trials in browse diets was not significantly different ( P ⩾ 0.05) in summer and early autumn. However, the intake of oriental hornbeam was higher ( P ⩽ 0.05) than that of manna ash in both seasons. IDMD was not significantly different ( P ⩾ 0.05) between oriental hornbeam and manna ash within each test period, but it was reduced for both species from summer to early autumn. It was concluded that the foliage of the tested browse was of a relatively high quality during the dry summer period and may play a significant role in goat nutrition in the Mediterranean grazing systems.