POTENTIAL OF CYTISUS AND ALLIED GENERA (GENISTEAE, FABACEAE) AS FORAGE SHRUBS .2. CHEMICAL-COMPOSITION OF THE FORAGE AND CONCLUSIONS

The chemical composition of the herbage produced by shrubs belonging t o the genus Cytisus and allied genera (Cytisophyllum, Chamaecytisus, a nd Genista sect. Teline) was determined to appraise its potential valu e for forage. In their third year, eight accessions were assessed in a semi-arid environment (400 mm annual rainfall) for seasonal variation of leaf/stem ratio, and contents of ashes, neutral detergent fibre (N DF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and crud e protein (CP). Fibre and crude protein concentration were similar to those of best-quality shrubby legumes like Medicago sp. pl. Colutea sp . pl., or Chamaecytisus palmensis (ADF, 18-35%; CP, 14-24%). Genista m onspessulana had low fibre and high protein contents, which were the m ost constant during the year. From the results obtained in this and th e previous agronomic study, Part 1 of this series (Gonzalez-Andres & O rtiz 1996), Genista monspessulana, Chamaecytisus podolicus, and C. sup inus are recommended as potentially useful forage shrubs because of th eir high dry matter production potential, high survival rate, and favo urable chemical composition. This needs to be validated in studies inv olving animals.