NUTRITIVE VALUE OF BROWSE PLANTS IN THE SUDAN SAVANNA OF NORTH WEST NIGERIA
I. PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF BIN-YAURI GRAZING RESERVE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.v6i.2645Keywords:
Bin-Yauri grazing reserve, Browse Plant, Nutritive valueAbstract
TWENTY-TWO plant species common to Sudan Savanna zone were identified as useful browse from a survey of Bin-Yauri grazing reserve in the Sokoto State of North West Nigeria. Leaf samples of the browse collected the peak period of the dry season showed high nutritive values with crude protein above 14 percent in majority of them. IVDMD was positively and significantly correlated with crude protein (r–0.89) Mineral contents were also high in all cases except that few species were low in phosphorus Importance of browse to make up nutrient deficiencies in animals during dry season is emphasised It is also argued that the higher CP in the browse ingested should improve nitrogen levels for animals resulting in their increased feed intake and digestibility of low quality forages during dry season. Hence, animals having access to some browse species should tide over the dry season without serious weight losses as compared to the ones restricted to grazing