*Department of Animal Science.
Department of Plant Breeding, H.P. Krishi Vishva Vidyalaya, Palampur-176 062, India
Online published on 21 January, 2012.
Two species of genus Leucaena viz, L. leucocephala (Lam.) de wit and L. diversifolia (Schlecht.) Benth, were studied for the seasonal variations of various nutrient components, in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), Mimosino and tannins in their top foliages. L. leucocephala had lower levels of lignin and higher levels of CP and IVDMD as compared to its counterpart, while reverse were flic indications for the contents of mimosine and tannins. The seasonal variations for both these incriminating factors were quite conspicuous as evidenced by their highest levels during summer and lowest during winter. The variations of mimosine and tannins in L. leucocephala were 0.86 to 1.73 and 2.07 to 6.40 while these variations in L. diversifolia were 0.43 to 1.14 and 1.5S to 4.24 percent, respectively.
