Nutritive value of major browse species in east dembia district, central gondar, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Regardless of having ample number of farm animals, its contribution to GDP is limited due to insufficient year round livestock feed supply in terms of quantity and quality, particularly during the dry season. This study was conducted to assess the most commonly used browse species as livestock feed particularly during dry period and to determine their nutritive value from four kebeles of East Dembiya district. Methods: Stratified random sampling was used for the selection of respondents. A total of 12 plots of 20m *20m (400m2) were established at an interval of 200m along the transect line to identify and record the available browse species. The leaves and petioles of A. abyssinica, C. africana, F. thonigii, F. sycomorus, V. amygdolina, M. arbutifolia and A. seyal were collected for chemical analysis. General linear model procedure of SAS was used for statistical analysis. Result: The mean CP content of the browse species ranged from 12.13% (F. sycomorus) to 29.74% (V. amygdolina). The IVDMD varied from 38.5% for M. arbutifolia to 71.67% for F. sycomorus. High gas production from immediately soluble component (a) was recorded for C. africana. The gas production from insoluble but potential degradable fraction (b), production potential (a+b) and organic matter digestibility were higher for F. thounigii but low for V. amygdolina. The browse species in the current study could be used as protein supplements to livestock fed on low quality feeds due to their high levels of crude protein, low fiber contents and high digestibility potentials.