Authors : L. Arias, R. Soriano-Robles, C.E. Gonzalez-Esquivel and E. Sanchez
Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential for animal nutrition of leaves and pods of fodder trees and shrubs consumed by goats, according to their chemical composition, cell walls and in vitro digestibility. Plants of the genera Acacia (A. cymbispina Sprague, A. farnesiana, A. couteri Benth, A. Milibekii), Mimosa (M. sp., M. pudica, M. fasciculata), Quercus and Prosopis (P. laevigata) in the municipality of Cosoltepec, Oaxaca, Mexico were evaluated. A total of 22 trees were identified and collected in 2 years in the Summer and Winter. In Summer, the minimum value of protein was 61.9 g kg-1 DM, the species that presented the highest was Mimosa sp., containing 243.8 g kg-1 DM. Crude protein in the Winter time followed the same trend as in Summer, the minimum value corresponded to Hymenqea coubaril protein, 61.3 g kg-1 DM, the highest value refers to Mimosa sp., with a value of 225.3 g kg-1 DM. The Summer IVDNDF ranged from 328.8-683.5 g kg-1 DM, the highest value corresponds to Eysenhartia polystachya family Fabaceae. In the Winter time ranged from 252.8-683.3 g kg-1 DM, a 11.76% of the studied species had values above 60%, Liquidambar styraciflua of the family Hamameliceae and Cassia pringlei of Leguminoseae family. Pods had a minimum of 120 g crude protein kg-1 DM and in the case of A. farnesiana, P. Laevigata and Pithecellobium dulce exceed the IVDNDF at 600 g kg-1 DM. It is concluded that based on its chemical composition, the tree is a potential resource for goat silvopastoral production in the Mixteca region.
L. Arias, R. Soriano-Robles, C.E. Gonzalez-Esquivel and E. Sanchez, 2014. Chemical Composition and In vitro Digestibility of Fodder Trees and Shrubs Consumed by Goats in the Low Mixteca Region of Oaxaca, Mexico. Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 9: 92-97.