Research Abstract on legumes

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND IN VITRO DIGESTIBILITY OF FOUR HERBACEOUS LEGUME FORAGES

U. Tjiraso12, J. Mupangwa2, M. Shipandeni2

 

University of Namibia, Department of Animal production, agribusiness and economics, Namibia

Corresponding Author’s E-mail: tjiraso1993@gmail.com

 

ABSTRACT

The objective of the study was to determine the nutrition content and in vitro digestibility of four herbaceous legumes (Tylosema esculentum, Vigna unguiculata, Tylosema esculentum, Lablab purpureus and Mucuna pruriens). Marama bean (Tylosema esculentum) is a wild-growing legume adapted to semi-arid conditions in southern Africa. The four leguminous species were harvested at vegetative growth stage. The Velvet bean, Cowpea and Lablab were harvested from Neudamm farm garden while Marama beans was harvested from Omitara in Omaheke region. The harvested forages were separated into leaf fraction, stem fraction and whole fraction and were air dried under the shade for a period of two weeks. After drying the plant fractions were ground through a 2mm screen using a hammer miller and samples stored in air tight containers in two replicates each pending laboratory analysis.

The samples were analyzed for DM, Ash, OM, CP, Ether, NDF, ADF, hemicellulose and in vitro DM digestibility. The chemical composition was analyzed using a combination of Duncan and T-test SPSS. Marama beans recorded significantly lower DM than the other legumes in contest (P<0.05) Marama bean ranging from ranging from 89.77% to 90.52c%. Cowpea had a significantly (P<0.05) high ash content in leaf fraction and whole fraction fractions 26.32a% in whole fraction and 16.93a% in leaf fraction while lablab recorded high ash in stem fraction 10.40a%. Marama beans had a low ash content in all the three fractions ranging from 4.81% to 7.87%. there was a significant (P<0.05) among the OM values in all the fraction and marama beans forages recorded the highest ranging from 92.13ab% to 94.20a %. Lablab have recorded significantly (P<0.05) highest CP% in leaf, stem and whole plant fraction ranging from 12.95a% to 30.05a%. There was no significant difference(P>0.05) in the value of a hemicellulose in leaf fraction and in the whole plant only in stem fraction were there was significance difference(P<0.05) with cowpea recording the highest(11.93a% a  fraction Results indicate that these legume forages are adequate in these nutrients for livestock.

 Key words: Nutritional contents, fractions, legumes.

 

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