The Status of Selected Minerals in Soil, Forage and Beef Cattle Tissues in a Semi-arid Region of Zimbabwe

Abstract

Five districts in the Matabeleland region, an arid western area of Zimbabwe, were investigated for the status of Ca, P, Na, Cu and Zn in soil, forage and cattle during the wet and dry seasons over a period of one year. The cattle came from the natural grazing lands and were not supplemented at the time of sampling. Some deficiencies in soil Zn and P were found in the districts of Lupane and Bulilimamangwe, respectively. Dry season soil Ca, Cu and P concentrations were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than rainy season values owing to leaching in all five districts. Most forage samples had mineral concentrations below the critical levels known to be adequate for animal requirements. Forage levels of Ca, Na. Cu and Zn significantly increased (p < 0.05) with advancing maturity, while P significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in almost all the districts. Marked deficiencies of minerals were found in cattle tissues and these levels followed the seasonal trend seen in the forage. These results indicate that cattle in Matebeleland are deficient in P, Ca, Cu and Zn and that grazing areas in the region cannot provide adequate levels of the five minerals studied.

Serum Levels of Cu, Se, and Zn in Adult Rural/Urban Residents in Ghana: Paradigm Shift?

“…Endemic Zn deficiency is known to occur among populations whose diet is predominantly cereal based [72,73]. A study in India and Zimbabwe showed that low levels of Zn in buffalo milk could be directly linked to low Zn levels in local soils and in fodder produced on those soils [74,75]. The link between Zn and dietary content can be the source of variance between the rural and urban groups in this study.…”

Producción y calidad nutrimental de forrajes en condiciones del Trópico Húmedo de México

“…Las diferencias en las concentraciones de minerales de los forrajes entre los ranchos pueden corresponder a las concentraciones de minerales en los suelos. En México se ha reportado una amplia variación del contenido mineral en los suelos de las regiones de clima tropical (Cabrera et al, 2009) y clima templado (Domínguez y Huerta, 2008), así como en otras partes del mundo (Pereira et al, 1997;Sharma et al, 2003;Ndebele et al, 2005) destacando niveles bajos de Cu y Zn y elevados de Fe, lo cual se refleja en la composición mineral del forraje que comen los animales (Whitehead, 2000). et al (2014) en la misma zona de estudio encontraron diferencias (p< 0.0001) entre las épocas del año en las concentraciones de Cu, Fe, Zn, Ca, Mg, Na, K y P, siendo la época de lluvias donde se presentan las menores concentraciones de Cu, Fe, Zn, Mg y Na.…”

“…Differences in mineral concentrations of forages among ranches may correspond to the concentrations of minerals in the soil. In Mexico has reported a wide variation of mineral content in soils of tropical regions (Cabrera et al, 2009) and temperate (Domínguez and Huerta, 2008), as well as in other parts of the world (Pereira et al, 1997;Sharma et al, 2003;Ndebele et al, 2005) highlighting elevated Fe and low levels of Cu and Zn which is reflected in the mineral composition of the forage eaten by animals (Whitehead, 2000). et al (2014) in the same area study found differences (p< 0.0001) between the seasons in the concentrations of Cu, Fe, Zn, Ca, Mg, Na, K and P, being the rainy season where they have the lower concentrations of Cu, Fe, Zn, Mg and Na.…”

Soil–plant–animal continuum in relation to macro and micro mineral status of dairy cattle in subtropical hill agro ecosystem

“…Wide variations in soil mineral concentrations have been reported (Khalili et al 1993;Pereira et al 1997;Sharma et al 2003;Ndebele et al 2005). Several factors have been attributed to variations in the mineral concentrations in soil of hilly area and soil of the plain area.…”