Abstract
Shoot material of Leucaena leucocephala (leucaena), Calliandra calothyrsus and Calliandra surinamensis was incubated for 12, 24, 36 and 48 h in nylon bags suspended in the rumen of a steer and losses of various components of the feed measured. Leucaena had much faster rates of loss of dry matter (DM), N, P and Ca. Leucaena had also a faster S loss than Calliandra calothyrsus, whereas C. surinamensis showed very high levels of soluble S. Loss of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) after 48 h was also far greater with leucaena than C. surinamensis (46.4% vs. 10.3%), whereas with C. calothyrsus there appeared to be an increase in NDF and ADF. For all species, acid detergent lignin (ADL) appeared to be higher than initial plant values throughout the period of incubation; markedly so for C. calothyrsus. The Calliandra spp. had high levels of silica and Al in their DM. Our findings and other published results, indicate that the Calliandra spp. investigated may not be a suitable alternative to leucaena as a ruminant feed.
Published Version
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