Nutritional Evaluation of Some Top Feed Leaves of Saurashtra Region Parsana D.K., Dutta K.S., Murthy K.S., Savsani H.H.*, Vataliya P.H., Gajbhiye P.U., Viramgama N.K. Department of Animal Nutrition, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, JAU, Junagadh-326001 (Gujarat), India *Corresponding author: Dr. H. H. Savsani, Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Nutrition, C. V. Sc. & A. H., JAU, Junagadh. E-mail: hhsavsani@jau.in
Online published on 17 September, 2013. Abstract The aim of present investigation was the nutritional evaluation of different top fodder tree leaves of Saurastra Region, Gujarat. Eleven predominantly available trees (Acacia nilotica, Prosophis juliflora, Leucaena leucocephala, Zyziphus mauritiana, Ficus benghalensis, Azadirachta indica, Ficus relegiosa, Alzibia samanm, Musa acuminatea, Citrus limon, Piper betle) were selected and their leaves were analyzed for proximate composition, in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVTDMD) and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVTOMD). The average values for CP, EE, CF, ash, NFE, NDF and ADF were 11.90±1.48, 3.93±0.47, 18.51±1.36, 12.86±1.32, 53.11±2.76, 46.79±2.63 and 31.13±2.50, respectively. The study revealed thatLeucaena leucocephala (22.6±0.36), Azadirachta indica (14.9±0.28), Alzibia samanm (15.3±0.27), Zyziphus mauritiana (12.6±0.25) and Citrus limon (14.8±0.22) are reasonable in crude protein. Crude fibre content of all the species tested was below 27 per cent. The average in vitro true dry matter digestibility and in vitro true organic matter digestibility of fodder herbs species were 54.34±2.66 and 57.10±2.63, respectively. True dry matter digestibility and true organic matter digestibility ranged from 41.53–69.06 per cent and 43.93–70.73 per cent, respectively. The results of study indicated that Leucaena leucocephala, Azadirachta indica, Citrus limon, Alzibia samanm and Zyziphus mauritiana can be fed to the ruminants as protein source, where as others can be considered as supplementary fodder. Top Keywords Top fodder tree leaves, IVTDMD and IVTOMD. Top |