VARIABILITY IN ECOTYPES OF ANTHEPHORA AMPULACEA 2. FEEDING VALUE OF HERBAGE

Twenty-eight ecotypes of Anthephora ambulacea, and a collection each of A. nigritana and Panicum maximum were compared for N, P, K, Ca, Mg and Na concentrations as well as for the feeding value parameters; predicted in vivodigestibility of the herbage, digestible dry matter yield, crude protein content, crude protein yield, the Ca: P ratio and the proportion of potassim to calcium and magnesium in the herbage, K/(Ca+Mg). Two growth stages were considered, vegetative stage - two months after planting, and reproductive stage - at 50% heading, three and a half months after planting.

Wide variations were observed in the mineral concentrations and in the other feeding value parameters among the ecotypes. There was a general decline in mineral concentrations except for Ca, and hence the feeding value of the herbage, from the vegetative to the reproductive stages. However, since the values recorded for A. ambulacea compared favourably with those for P. maximum, the use of A. ampulacea as a major livestock feed in the tropics, is recommended.