Seasonal variation in the macromineral in some woody and herbaceous forage in rangeland District, Tank, Pakistan

Abstract

This study was carried out to assess the macro-mineral grade of some woody and herbaceous forage species at three phenological stages usually grazed by livestock in District Tank, Pakistan. Seven woody species which includes Zizyphus mauritiana, Acacia nilotica ssp. nilotica, Prosopis cineraria, Suaeda fruticosa, Salsola foetida, Calotropis procera and Withania coagulans and four herbaceous which includes Convolvulus arvensis, Avena sativa, Tribulus terrestris and Trifolium alexandrianum were analyzed for Ca, K, Mg, Na, P and N contents. Generally high P concentration was observed at pre- reproductive stages in all tested forage plants while Ca contents increased with maturity of plants in herbs and reversed in woody species. The herbs generally had higher K contents than woody forages. No significant differences between and among herbs and woody and different phenological stages were seen. Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium and Nitrogen contents differed insignificantly among the woody and herbaceous species at all phonological stages except K which showed significant differences between woody species and herbs. The present study showed that macro-mineral contents were in the adequate range for ruminants in all the tested species at all the phenological stages, which generally might fulfill the requirement of grazing animals. Key word: Macronutrients, essential elements, herbivory, ruminants, Pakistan.