Koura Bossima Ivan, Yassegoungbe Fifame Panine, Afatondji Cossi Ulriche, Cândido Magno José Duarte, Guimaraes Vinicius Pereira, Dossa Luc Hippolyte
Ecole de Gestion et d'Exploitation des Systèmes d'Elevage, Université Nationale d'Agriculture, BP 43, Kétou, Benin.
Ecole des Sciences et Techniques de Production Animale Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d'Abomey-Calavi, 03 BP 2819, Cotonou, Benin.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2021 Jan 21;53(1):133. doi: 10.1007/s11250-021-02559-9.
In order to identify the most promising browse species for sustaining goat production, the nutritional characteristics of leaves of trees and shrubs and their use in farmers' feeding strategies were assessed in sub-humid areas of Benin. Two hundred and forty (240) goat farmers were surveyed and their uses of different leaves of trees and shrubs for supplementing their goats documented in two vegetation zones, namely the Sudano-Guinean and Guineo-Congolese zones. Then, samples of 32 leaves were collected at the end of rainy season in October-November, just before the long dry season and analyzed for their chemical composition, in vitro digestibility, and tannin content. Principal component and cluster analyses were performed to identify homogenous groups of leaves on the basis of their nutritional characteristics. Free grazing on natural perennial grasses with supplementation with leaves of trees and shrubs was the main goat feeding practice during the dry season in both zones. Agro-processing by-products were used as feed supplements mainly in the Guineo-Congolese zone. Most of the leaves of trees and shrubs elicited by the surveyed goat farmers had a crude protein content higher than 15%, sufficient for their use as feed supplements. However, this potential could be limited by their high tannin content. One non-native (Gliricidia sepium) and five native shrub species (Ficus thonningii, Antiaris africana, Phyllanthus discoideus, Morinda lucida, Mallotus oppositifolius) were identified as the most promising for supplementing goats during dry season in both zones. Our study was useful in identifying some underutilized and neglected leaves of trees and shrubs that could be recommended to smallholder goat farmers in agroforestry systems for enhancing animal productivities in small-scale farms.
为了确定维持山羊生产最具潜力的可食植物种类，在贝宁的亚湿润地区评估了乔木和灌木树叶的营养特性及其在农民饲养策略中的应用。对240位山羊养殖户进行了调查，并记录了他们在苏丹-几内亚和几内亚-刚果这两个植被区使用不同乔木和灌木树叶补充山羊饲料的情况。然后，在10月至11月雨季结束时、漫长旱季来临之前，采集了32种树叶样本，分析其化学成分、体外消化率和单宁含量。进行主成分分析和聚类分析，以根据营养特性确定树叶的同类群组。在两个地区，旱季山羊的主要饲养方式都是自由采食天然多年生草本植物并辅以乔木和灌木树叶。农产品加工副产品主要在几内亚-刚果地区用作饲料补充剂。受访山羊养殖户提及的大多数乔木和灌木树叶粗蛋白含量高于15%，足以用作饲料补充剂。然而，其高单宁含量可能会限制这种潜力。一种非本地树种（绢毛相思）和五种本地灌木树种（托氏榕、非洲箭毒木、盘状叶下珠、亮叶巴戟、白背叶野桐）被确定为两个地区旱季补充山羊饲料最具潜力的树种。我们的研究有助于确定一些未充分利用和被忽视的乔木和灌木树叶，可推荐给农林业系统中的小农户山羊养殖户，以提高小规模农场的动物生产力。
