Nutritional Evaluation of Palatable Tree Leaves in Dry Zone of Karnataka

Among the 120 browsing Osmanbad goats, 70.9% preferred Hardwickia binata, Leucaena leucocephala, Tamarindus indica and Zizyphus sps as first choice, 20.8% preferred Acacia nilotica and Azadirachta indica as second choice whereas 8.3% preferred Eucalyptus sps and Prosophis julifora as third choice. Four of the preferred tree leaves, Leucaena leucocephala, (T₁) Zizyphus species, (T₂) Hardwickia binata (T₃) and Acacia nilotica (T₄) were evaluated in twelve stall fed Osmanbad goats (13-15kg body weight, 4–5 month of age) divided into four equal groups T₁, T₂, T₃ and T₄ along with 400g Bengal gram as supplementary feed. The CP, CF, EE, NFE and TA content of Leucaena leucocephala, Zizyphusspecies,Hardwickia binata and Acacia nilotica tree leaves ranged from 10.31–17.09, 11.08–27.1, 2.2–6.54, 54.04–67.25 and 4.52- 8.74% respectively. The average daily intake of fresh leaves (kg/d) in groups T₁, T₂, T₃ and T₄ were 2.45±0.1, 2.37±0.1, 1.81±0.1 and 1.47±0.1, respectively and the variation among the groups was significant (P≤0.01). Similarly, significantly higher (P≤0.01) nutrient intake and digestibility co-efficient of nutrients except CP were observed in T₁ group. The results indicated that goats relished fresh leaves in the orderLeucaena > Zizyphus > Hardwickia > Acacia under stall fed condition.