Nutrients Profile of 52 Browse Species Found in Semi-Arid Areas of South Africa for Livestock Production: Effect of Harvesting Site

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.

Nutritional Characteristics and Digestibility of Woody and Herbaceous Native Plants from Tropical Flooded Savannas Ecosystems

“…Average ranges values of 8-25.3%, 2.5-25.8%, 8.8-19%, and 17.5-27.3% were found in arboreal, shrubs, climbing and herb species, respectively. These values are within the range reported in trees and shrubs [20,27,28], climbing [24], and herb species [29]. The plants with the highest CP classification within the groups included six species in the arboreal category (A. niopoides, H. americanus, M. nobilis, M. calabura, C. vitifolium and A. Jahnii-17.7 to 25.3%), four in shrubs (G. guianensis, A, molli, I. carnea and S. reticulate-22.5 to 25.8%), two in climbing (E. polystachya and L.densiflorus-15.4 to 19%) and one plant in the herb category (H. indicum-27.3%).…”

“…All the arboreal, climbing, and herbs plants while 11 of the shrub species presented CP concentrations equal to or greater than 8% of the DM, which constitutes the minimum protein requirement for optimal rumen microbial function [28]. These results demonstrate the great potential of these native plants as a protein source to be incorporated into grazing animals diet under flooded savannah conditions.…”

Drought-Induced Challenges and Different Responses by Smallholder and Semicommercial Livestock Farmers in Semiarid Limpopo, South Africa—An Indicator-Based Assessment

“…Cognisant of the drought stress situation, we consider locally tailored, practical feeding strategies to be promising alternatives to scheme-based governmental provisions. Agronomic strategies may consider the nutritive potential of winter (drought) forage grasses [80], legume residue silage [81], legume trees [82] or other woody browse species [83,84] as supplementary feed in addition to poor-quality forage. Fundamental, however, is the transfer of such approaches from sustainability science to people's contextual realities and we thus concur with other authors, e.g., [85][86][87], who highlight the need for transformative pathways recognizing the inclusion of stakeholder interests and participation.…”

Effects of the Incubation Period of Pleurotus ostreatus on the Chemical Composition and Nutrient Availability of Solid-State-Fermented Corn Stover

“…The estimated parameters were calculated using the following formulae: dry matter intake (DMI) = 120/NDF; dry matter digestibility (DDM) = 88.9 − (0.779 × ADF); relative forage value (RFV) = (DDM × DMI) × 0.775; relative forage quality (RFQ) = (DMI × TDN)/1.23; total digestible nutrient (TDN) = 104.97 − (1.302 × ADF); digestible crude protein (DCP) = (0.916 × CP) − 3.09; gross energy (GE) = (CP × 0.056) + (EE × 0.094) + (100 − CP − Ash − EE) × 0.042; digestible energy (DE) = TDN × 0.04409; metabolizable energy (ME) = 0.821 × DE; net energy of maintenance (NEM) = (TDN × 0.029) − 0.29; net energy of gain (NEG) = (TDN × 0.029) − 1.01; net energy of lactation (NEL) = (TDN × 0.0245) − 0.012 [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”