Abstract
The use of these browse plant species as feed supplements to livestock is restricted due to a lack of knowledge about their nutritional status. This study was conducted to evaluate the nutritive value of woody browse species found in a semi-arid, as influenced by harvesting, site (Limpopo and North West Province). Limpopo had a Glenrosa, Mispah and Lithosols (GM-L) soil type and North West sites had an Aeolian Kalahari sand, Clovelly and Hutton (AKS-CH) soil type. Fresh leaves from fifty-two trees (five trees per species) were randomly selected and harvested from the site by hand-picking. Limpopo had forty-five browse species and North West had twenty-one browse species, respectively. The samples were air dried at room temperature and ground for laboratory analysis (nutritive value). The data were subjected to one-way analysis of variance (for those species that were not common in both sites) and two-way factorial (for those species that were common in both sites) in a completely randomized design. In the GM-L soil type, M. azedarach (223.2 g/kg DM) had the highest (p < 0.05) crude protein content (CP), whereas in the AKS-CH soil type, V. hebeclada (189.2 g/kg DM) had the highest (p < 0.05) CP content. Within each species, V. nilotica. Subsp. Krasssiana had the highest (p < 0.05) dry matter digestibility (725.4 g/kg DM), non-fibrous carbohydrates (607.3 g/kg DM), digestible energy (3.375 Mcal/kg) and metabolizable energy (2.771) content when compared to all the other browse species in both GM-L and AKS-CH soils. Melia azedarach in GM-L had the highest (p < 0.05) values in most amino acids’ parameters measured when compared to the same species in AKS-CH. Though the harvesting site had an effect on the nutritive value, all species, irrespective of the harvesting site, had sufficient CP to be used as a supplement to livestock exposed to the low-quality roughages. The results from this study will be useful for farmers and researchers through the provision of relevant information on how to improve livestock production. There is a need to run in vivo trials to determine the best species suitable for livestock sustainability.
Highlights
One of the main constraints to enhancing livestock productivity in Sub-Saharan region is a lack of feedstuff leading to poor nutrition
F. virosa had the highest (p < 0.05) crude total fat (CF) (67.2 g/kg), DMD (688.0 g/kg), DE (3.215 Mcal/kg) and metabolizable energy (ME) (2.639 Mcal/kg) content when compared with E. divinorum, which had the lowest (p < 0.05) CF (13.5 g/kg), DMD (135.5 g/kg), DE (0.850 Mcal/kg) and ME (0.698 Mcal/kg) content
The nutritive content (Ash, crude protein (CP), CF, Acid detergent lignin (ADL), Non-Fiber Carbohydrate (NFC), DMD, DE and ME) in this study showed a wide significant variation among the browse species found in both soil types
Summary
One of the main constraints to enhancing livestock productivity in Sub-Saharan region is a lack of feedstuff leading to poor nutrition. This is due to the fact that livestock mostly most rely on high fiber diets that have low nutrients such as protein, mineral, carbohydrates and vitamins. Spatial variation is one of the factors influencing the concentration levels of nutrient elements in browse species [2,13]. Spatial variation involves several attributes such as area temperature [14,15], light- and ozone-influencing photosynthesis processes on plants, altitude [16], soil moisture, type and the fertility of certain areas [2,17,18,19]
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