IN VITRO DIGESTIBILITY OF FIVE PLANTS CONSUMED BY WEST AFRICAN DWARF SHEEP
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.vi.7291Keywords:
Forages, in vitro gas, Metabolizable energy, ruminants, FermentationAbstract
The competition between man and livestock for conventional feedstuffs and the exorbitant cost of concentrate diets can be reduced through the use of alternative feed materials that are cheap, available all year-round. Thus, a study was conducted to evaluate in vitro digestibility of Anacardium occidentale, Gmelina arborea, Mangifera indica, Gliricidia sepium and Panicum maximum. The plants were sundried and kept in polythene bags for further investigation. In vitro digestibility study was carried out for 24 hours. In vitro gas production and post incubation parameters were measured.
In vitro study reveals that at 24 hr of incubation Mangifera indica had highest (P<0.05) value of 20.67mL/200mgDM gas production while lowest value (9.67mL/200mgDM) was obtained in Panicum maximum. Mangifera indica had highest (P<0.05) values for ME, OMD and SCFA across the plants while the least (P<0.05) values were observed in Panicum maximum. The study concluded that the forages investigated can be fed to sheep to improve their nutritional status especially in the period of feed scarcity without any adverse effect on the animals.
