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Nutritive value of edible forage from two Leucaena leucocephala cultivars with different growth habit and morphology

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Abstract

The nutritive value of edible forage from Leucaena leucocephala cv. Cunningham (CUNN) and cv. CNIA-250 (CNIA) was determined during the rainy (R) and dry (D) seasons of Cuba without fertilization or irrigation. Forage was supplied ad libitum and the French system of total faeces collection was used for nutritive value determination and expression by using six adult castrated Pelibuey wethers for each determination. There were noticeable differences in the chemical composition and nutritive value between the two cultivars which were also influenced by year season. The highest protein and energy content were found in CNIA and during the rainy season which could also explain its higher forage intake and digestibility, while CUNN expressed higher DM and nutrient yield throughout the year, mainly due to advantages in tree size and morphology (higher ramification and proportion of leaves, and acceptable branch length). Quality and nutritive value results indicated that these Leucaena cultivars have a suitable potential as supplements for sustainable ruminant nutrition strategies during both seasons of the year; CNIA, because of its smaller height, is strongly recommended for agrosilvopastoral small ruminant browsing systems.

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Acknowledgments

The authors want to give thanks to colleagues from EEPF “Indio Hatuey” (the technicians Ramón Delgado, Lorenzo Rivero and Marisol Ramírez and the field worker Félix Ramírez) for their job during the development of the experiments, and the M.Sc. Marlen Navarro Boulandier for her help to allocate some references and technical data from the two cultivars here evaluated. We also acknowledge to Dr. Gerardo Caja López and Dr. Elena Albanell Trullas for helping with the authorization for experimental forage analyses in the laboratory of chemical analysis of Departament de Ciencia Animal i dels Aliments, Facultat Veterinaria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.

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Author notes

  1. E. González-García

    Present address: UMR-Elevage des Ruminants en Régions Chaudes (ERRC) (UMR_868), INRA-Montpellier, Campus SupAgro-INRA, 2 Place Pierre VIALA, 34060, Montpellier Cedex 1, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Estación Experimental de Pastos y Forrajes “Indio Hatuey”, Central España Republicana, 44280, Matanzas, Cuba

    E. González-García, O. Cáceres & H. Santana

  2. INRA-Unité de Recherches Zootechniques (URZ), Domaine de Duclos, Prise d’Eau, 97170, Petit Bourg, Guadeloupe (FWI)

    E. González-García & H. Archimède

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  1. E. González-García
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  2. O. Cáceres
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  3. H. Archimède
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  4. H. Santana
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Correspondence to E. González-García.

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González-García, E., Cáceres, O., Archimède, H. et al. Nutritive value of edible forage from two Leucaena leucocephala cultivars with different growth habit and morphology. Agroforest Syst 77, 131–141 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-008-9188-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-008-9188-4

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