Calotropis procera: feed potential for arid zones
Abbas, B.; el Tayeb, A.E.; Sulleiman, Y.R.
Veterinary Record 131(6): 132
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0042-4900 PMID: 1529520 Document Number: 391591
In Sudan during the 1982-85 drought animals were observed to browse on C. procera, an abundant evergreen shrub, and when animals were fed the leaves of the shrub either alone or mixed with dry desert grass they did well and even gained weight. Nutritional analysis of shade-dried leaves of C. procera showed they contained 94.62% dry matter, 20.88% ash, 19.62% crude protein, 2.25% oil, 43.60% acid detergent fibre, 19.46% neutral detergent fibre, 0.02% calcium, 5.14% magnesium, 0.59% phosphorus, 0.2% zinc and 0.04% iron (copper could not be detected). Palatability trials in goats showed that their total intake did not exceed 0.25-0.50 kg of dry leaves when fed alone but when mixed with dried lucerne alfalfa or arstida grass the intake improved and up to 50% mixtures were consumed. Further studies in lambs, goats and camels are in progress.