Bh. Dzowela et al., RECENT WORK ON THE ESTABLISHMENT, PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION OF MULTIPURPOSE TREES AS A FEED RESOURCE IN ZIMBABWE, Animal feed science and technology, 69(1-3), 1997, pp. 1-15
Recent work to establish and produce multipurpose trees is reviewed in
terms of their production and role in animal feeding systems. A great
deal of variability was found in fodder production, with Acacia angus
tissima, Leucaena leucocephala cv. Cunningham, Gliricidia sepium and t
o some extent Cajanus cajan producing the highest fodder yields at bot
h Domboshawa and Makoholi sites. However, with C. cajan the yields at
Makoholi were much lower than at Domboshawa. Among the alternative spe
cies to the psyllid-prone L. leucocephala, A. angustissima has shown s
uperior fodder productivity. Within the Leucaena genus L. esculenta su
bsp. paniculata (OFI 52/87), L. diversifolia subsp. stenocarpa (OFI 53
/88), L. pallida (G2137) and to some extent L. pulverulenta (OFI 84/87
) have shown the greatest potential at both Domboshawa and Makoholi. D
ue to differences in chemical composition, the different fodder trees
were variable in the extent to which they can be relied upon as feed r
esources in Zimbabwe. Notable differences were found in fibre content,
in vitro dry matter digestibility, acceptability and intake by livest
ock and therefore, their potential in affecting animal productivity. (
C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.