Variation in nutritional composition and growth performance of some halophytic species grown under saline conditions

Abstract

Studies were conducted at the Biosaline Research Station-II of the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad, Pakistan to evaluate biomass production and nutritive value of some salt-tolerant grasses and bushes, i.e. Leptochloa fusca, Sporobolus arabicus (Poaceae), Suaeda fruticosa, Kochia indica and Atriplex lentiformis (Chenopodiaceae). The soil salinity of the experimental site ranged from 4.8 to 28.6 dS m^–1 and had pH values of 7.82 to 8.92 and residual sodium carbonate of 21.6. The plants were irrigated with underground brackish water with electrical conductivity (EC) of 4.78 dS m^–1 and pH 8.2. The plants were raised from root stocks in selected plots and adjacent naturally growing plants of these species of the same age were selected for purposes of comparison in terms of growth and nutritional value. When the plants were at a stage when they could be used for forage, samples were collected and tested for biomass, protein, total carbohydrates, Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, P and total nitrogen. The results indicated that A. lentiformis produced the highest biomass followed by K. indica, L. fusca, S. arabicus and S. fruticosa. Plant yields were significantly higher in the experimental plots than under natural environmental conditions. The chemical analysis for protein and carbohydrates indicated that S. fruticosa contained the highest protein followed by K. indica, A. lentiformis, S. arabicus and L. fusca. On the other hand, the highest carbohydrate contents were recorded in S. arabicus, closely followed by L. fusca, with the lowest in A. lentiformis. Maximum Na⁺ was recorded in A. lentiformis, closely followed by S. fruticosa while the minimum was in S. arabicus grass. The highest K⁺ was contained in K. indica closely followed by A. lentiformis, while L. fusca contained the least. The highest levels of Ca²⁺ were recorded in A. lentiformis, followed by K. indica, S. fruticosa, L. fusca and S. arabicus. On the other hand, the highest Mg²⁺ was recorded in S. fruticosa and K. indica and the lowest in L. fusca with a similar trend for P. Total nitrogen was higher in S. fruticosa, followed by K. indica and A. lentiformis than in the other species.

Keywords: halophytic forage, livestock, nutritional composition, palatibility, physiological and metabolic disorders

African Journal of Range & Forage Science 2007, 24(1): 19–23