Nutritional Values and in Vitro Fermentation Parameters of Some Fodder Species Found in Two Rangeland Areas in the Republic of Benin

Abstract

In the present study, the nutritional values and in vitro rumen parameters of three browse forages (Leucaena leucocephala (LL), Cajanus cajan (CC) and Khaya senegalensis (KS)) and five grasses (Andropogon gayanus (AG), Panicum maximum C 1 local (PMCL), Panicum maximum C 1 ameliorate (PMCA), Pennisetum purpureum (PP), and Brachiaria ruziziensis (BR)) grown in the Republic of Benin were investigated. With this aim, it was determined dry matter (DM), ash, acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), metabolizable energy (ME), dry matter intake (DMI), dry matter digestibility (DMD) and relative feed value (RFV) as nutritive values, gas production (GP), methane production (MP), organic matter digestibility (OMD) as in vitro rumen fermentation parameters. Strained and anaerobically prepared rumen fluid was used for determining GP and OMD. Additionally, the correlations between chemical composition and fermentation characteristics were studied. The samples were collected in two rangeland areas in the Republic of Benin. The lowest and highest ADF contents were determined for CC (30.85%) and PMCA (43.14%). The lowest NDF content was found for CC (48.62%). The highest GP (33.8%) and ME (6.85 MJ/kg DM) have been determined for BR. The CC had the highest DMD (64.9%) and RFV (124.1). The lowest MP (mL) was recorded in PMCA, whereas the highest MP was recorded in AG. The crude protein (CP) content of forages was positively correlated with OMD, DMD, DMI, and RFV, while NDF was negatively correlated with GP, MP, OMD, DMD, DMI, and RFV. However, ADF was negatively correlated with GP, DMD, DMI, and RFV, whereas positively with ME. These results show that all the plant materials used in the present study can be used as alternative forage sources in ruminant rations.