Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T18:46:19.193Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The apparent digestibility of Atriplex barclayana and its effect on nitrogen balance in sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

R. W. Benjamin ,
E. Oren ,
E. Katz  and
K. Becker
R. W. Benjamin
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resources, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
E. Oren
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resources, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
E. Katz
Affiliation:
Institutes for Applied Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84110, Israel
K. Becker
Affiliation:
Institute for Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Hohenheim, 7000 Stuttgart 70, Germany
Get access

Abstract

An in vivo digestibility trial was conducted by feeding sheep the leaves, fruits and twigs of Atriplex barclayana in a proportion roughly equivalent to that eaten by sheep grazing freely in Atriplex plantations. Four treatments were imposed on each of four sheep in a 4 × 4 Latin-square experimental design: Atriplex offered alone or with 100, 200 or 300 g/day tapioca meal.

The mean apparent digestibility of the Atriplex dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) consumed were 0·59 and 0·56, respectively. Addition of tapioca to the Atriplex in the diet did not improve these digestibility coefficients. The low OM content of 760 g/kg together with its digestibility of 0·56 resulted in the Atriplex having a low metabolizable energy concentration of 6·28 MJ per kg DM. The in vitro apparent DM digestibility of Atriplex was approximately 0·09 higher than the in vivo apparent digestibility.

The mean nitrogen concentration of the Atriplex DM was 16·6 g/kg, and its apparent digestibility 0·73, which was not improved by the addition of tapioca to the diet. Nitrogen retention of the sheep eating only Atriplex was proportionately 0·17 of the nitrogen intake. The addition of 300 g tapioca improved nitrogen retention to 0·27 but was not significantly different from the other treatments.

Water intake and urine excreted were as high as 14 and 12 I/day respectively, for an Atriplex DM intake of about 1300 g/day. During the experiment the sheep only maintained live weight, despite daily intakes of up to 1200 g Atriplex DM and up to 300 g tapioca.

Keywords

Atriplexdigestibilitynitrogen balancesheep
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 54 , Issue 2 , April 1992 , pp. 259 - 264
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agricultural Research Council. 1980. The nutrient requirements of ruminant livestock. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough.Google Scholar
Arieli, A., Nairn, E., Benjamin, R. W. and Pasternak, D. 1989. The effect of feeding saltbush and sodium chloride on energy metabolism in sheep. Animal Production 49: 451–457.Google Scholar
Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1975. Official methods of analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 12th ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Benjamin, R. W., Barkai, D., Hefetz, Y., Lavie, Y. and Yaron, A. 1986. The apparent digestibility of Atriplex nummularia and the nitrogen balance of sheep consuming it. In Fodder production and its utilization by small ruminants in arid regions (FOPAR) (ed. Dovrat, A.), fourth annual report, Institutes for Applied Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.Google Scholar
Chen, M. 1975. [Water and food intake in Awassi and German Mutton Merino sheep.] M.Sc. Thesis, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.Google Scholar
Contreras, D. 1977. Analisis del preidio “Corral di Julio” como unidad di producicon en el semi arido del Norte Chico. Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Agronomia, Santiago.Google Scholar
Duncan, D. B. 1955. Multiple range and multiple F tests. Biometrics 11: 1–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hassan, N. I. and Abdel-Aziz, H. M. 1979. Effect of barley supplementation on the nutritiv e value of saltbush (Atriplex nummularia). World Review of Animal Production 15: (4), 47–55.Google Scholar
Hassan, N. I., Abdel-Aziz, H. M. and El-Tabbakh, A. E. 1979. Evaluation of some forages introduced to newly-reclaimed areas in Egypt. World Review of Animal Production 15: (2), 31–35.Google Scholar
Newman, D. M. R. 1969. The chemical composition, digestibility and intake of some native pasture species in central Australia during winter. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 9: 599–602.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pasternak, D., Nerd, A., Aronson, J. A., Klotz, H., Yagil, R. and Venkert, R. W. 1986. Fodder production with saline water. Report for the years 1984–1985, Institutes for Applied Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.Google Scholar
Statistical Analysis Systems Institute. 1985. User's guide: statistics, version 5. Statistical Analysis Systems, Cary, NC.Google Scholar
Storey, R. and Wyn Jones, R. G. 1977. Quaternar y ammonium compounds in plants in relation to salt resistance. Phytochemistry 16: 447–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tilley, J. M. A. and Terry, R. A. 1963. A two-stage technique for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. Journal of the British Grasslands Society 18: 104–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, A. D. 1966. The value of Atriplex (saltbush) and Kochia (bluebush) species as food for sheep. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 17: 147–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, A. D. 1977. The digestibility and voluntary intake of the leaves of trees and shrubs by sheep and goats. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 28: 501–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yaron, A., Lavie, Y., Forti, M. and Benjamin, R. W. 1985. Atriplex nummularia, Atriplex canescens and Cassia sturtii grown unde r dryland condition s in the Negev. Value as feed and as a nitroge n supply for ruminants. In Fodder production and its utilization by small ruminants in arid regions (FOPAR) (ed. Dovrat, A.), third annual report, Institutes for Applied Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.Google Scholar