RECENT WORK ON THE ESTABLISHMENT, PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION OF MULTIPURPOSE TREES AS A FEED RESOURCE IN ZIMBABWE

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.