Forage Plants for Small Ruminant Feeding at Rural and Peri-Urban Sites in the Warm Humid Tropical Environment of Southeastern Nigeria

Okoli, Ifeanyi Charles; Odoemene, Elijah Chinedu; Ezenwata, Charles Chiedozie; Chinenye Ohanaka, Albert Uzochukwu; Odoemelam, Victor Udodirim

doi:10.2478/boku-2024-0005

Figures & Tables

Comparison of the relative mineral supplies for small ruminants at the rural and peri-urban sitesTabelle 9_ Vergleich der relativen Mineralstoffversorgung für kleine Wiederkäuer an den ländlichen und stadtnahen Standorten

Minerals (mg/kg)	Rural site	Peri-urban site	SEM	p < 0.05
Calcium	195.38	350.99	69.52	0.280
Phosphorus	307.86	524.30	97.39	0.284
Sodium	363.91	315.82	52.60	0.666
Potassium	170.76	128.04	14.67	0.152
Magnesium	53.39	39.20	10.89	0.536
Manganese	19.11	18.83	1.52	0.931
Iron	17.43	21.13	2.36	0.456
Zinc	2.94	3.38	0.20	0.293
Copper	1.63	1.67	0.23	0.928
Lead	0.09	0.26	0.08	0.310
Ca:P	1.24	0.90	0.25	0.521
Na:K	2.27	2.47	0.36	0.788
Ca:Mg	6.46	9.27	1.48	0.364
K:Mg	6.87	4.28	1.22	0.307
K:(Ca + Mg)	0.88	0.59	0.16	0.386
(K + Na):Ca + Mg)	2.56	1.93	0.40	0.448
Zn:Cu	2.71	2.11	0.31	0.354
Fe:Cu	22.92	14.43	6.17	0.514

Diversity of forage plants used in feeding small ruminants by farmers at the rural and peri-urban sites in Imo stateTabelle 1_ Vielfalt der Futterpflanzen, die von Landwirten in ländlichen und stadtnahen Gebieten im Bundesstaat Imo zur Fütterung kleiner Wiederkäuer verwendet werden

S/No.	Forage plant	English name	Igbo name	Frequency (%) in the rural site (n = 10)	Frequency (%) in the peri-urban site (n = 10)	Overall frequency (%) (n = 20)
1	Pterocarpus mildraedii	African Rosewood	Oha	1 (10.00)	2 (20.00)	3 (15.00)
2	Dialium guineense	African velvet tamarind	Icheku/Nchichi	8 (80.00)	5 (50.00)	13 (65.00)
3	Persea americana	Avocado	Ube Bekee	5 (50.00)	9 (90.00)	14 (70.00)
4	Vernonia amygdalina	Bitter leaf	Onugbu	3 (30.00)	1 (10.00)	4 (20.00)
5	Costus afer	Wild cane	Okpete	3 (30.00)	-	3 (15.00)
6	Urena lobate	Caesar weed	Udo	2 (20.00)	-	2 (10.00)
7	Manihot esculanta	Cassava	Akpu	2 (20.00)	4 (40.00)	6 (30.00)
8	Pannisetum purpureum	Elephant grass	Achara nwakita	3 (30.00)		3 (15.00)
9	Gmelina abore	Gmelina	Melina	1 (10.00)	-	1 (5.00)
10	Psidium guajava	Guava	Gova	1 (10.00)	5 (50.00)	6 (30.00)
11	Chromlaena odorata	Seam weed (Eliza)	Awolowo	2 (20.00)	-	2 (10.00)
12	Pterocarpus santalinoides	African rosewood	Oha Nturukpa	1 (10.00)	10 (100.00)	11 (55.00)
13	Eleasia guineensis	Palm fronds	Igu Nkwu	10 (100.00)	10 (100.00)	20 (100.00)
14	Dacryodes edulis	African pear	Ube	2 (20.00)	-	2 (10.00)
15	Musa acuminata/paradisiaca	Banana/plantain	Abirica/Une	1 (10.00)	9 (90.00)	10 (50.00)
16	Aspilia africana	Hemorrhage plant	Oranjila	4 (40.00)	6 (60.00)	10 (50.00)
17	Bambusa tulda	Indian bamboo	Ekwe achara	-	10(100.00)	10 (50.00)
18	Treculia africana	Breadfruit	Ukwa	-	5 (50.00)	5 (25.00)
19	Kola nitida	Kola	Oji	-	4 (40.00)	4 (20.00)
20	Microdesmus puberula		Atumkpiri	-	4 (40.00)	4 (20.00)
21	Spondia mombin	African plum	Njikara	-	2 (20.00)	2 (10.00)
22			Mpupu	1 (10.00)	-	1 (5.00)
23			Achara field	1 (10.00)	-	1 (5.00)

	Total			18	15	23

List of the seven most commonly identified forage plants for feeding small ruminants at rural and peri-urban sites in Imo stateTabelle 4_ Liste der sieben am häufigsten identifizierten Futterpflanzen für die Fütterung kleiner Wiederkäuer an ländlichen und stadtnahen Stand-orten im Bundesstaat Imo

S/No.	Forage plant	Frequency at the rural site	Frequency at the peri-urban site
1	Eleasia guineensis	10	10
2	Pterocarpus santalinoides	-	10
3	Musa acuminata/paradisiaca	-	9
4	Persea americana	5	9
5	Bambusa tulda	-	9
6	Dialium guineense	8	5
7	Aspilia africana	4	8
8	Vernonia amygdalina	3	-
9	Pannisetum purpureum	3	-
10	Costus afer	3	-

	Total	7	7

Mean mineral ratios in the preferred forage plants at the sitesTabelle 7_ Mittlere Mineralstoffverhältnisse in den bevorzugten Futterpflanzen an den Standorten

Forage plant	Ca:P	Na:K	Ca:Mg	K:Mg	K:(Ca + Mg)	(K + Na): Ca + Mg)	Zn:Cu	Fe:Cu
Rural site
Eleasia guineensis	2.83	3.17	8.98	5.44	0.55	2.27	0.80	3.01
Dialium guineense	0.87	1.95	4.80	7.90	1.36	4.02	3.28	19.74
Persea americana	0.31	4.17	5.50	2.79	0.43	2.22	3.37	19.82
Aspilia africana	2.08	4.06	13.96	12.77	0.85	4.32	1.73	8.08
Veronia amygdalina	0.37	0.67	6.37	15.96	2.17	3.61	4.73	94.66
Pannisetum purpureum	1.77	0.75	4.92	2.66	0.45	0.79	0.93	2.59
Costus afer	0.43	1.13	0.67	0.56	0.33	0.71	4.16	12.54
Minimum	0.31	0.67	0.67	0.56	0.33	0.71	0.80	2.59
Maximum	2.83	4.06	13.97	12.77	2.17	4.47	4.16	94.66
Mean	1.24	2.27	6.46	6.87	0.88	2.56	2.71	22.92
SD	0.99	1.52	4.13	5.70	0.67	1.48	1.57	34.41
Peri-urban site
Pterocarpus santalinoides	1.71	4.56	18.65	9.84	0.50	2.78	1.71	9.44
Eleasia guineensis	0.45	3.63	7.51	2.47	0.29	1.35	3.31	21.91
Musa paradisiaca	0.30	1.17	10.49	3.06	0.27	0.58	1.68	5.32
Bambusa tulda	0.24	1.64	3.01	5.43	1.35	3.58	2.23	9.94
Aspilia africana	2.65	2.56	17.98	1.97	0.10	0.37	1.72	17.23
Persea americana	0.66	1.64	3.86	1.47	0.30	0.80	2.12	27.07
Dialium guineense	0.27	2.12	3.41	5.72	1.31	4.08	1.98	10.12
Minimum	0.30	1.17	3.01	1.47	0.10	0.37	1.68	5.32
Maximum	2.65	4.56	18.65	9.84	1.35	4.08	3.31	27.07
Mean	0.90	2.47	9.28	2.28	0.59	1.93	2.11	14.43
SD	0.93	1.22	6.72	2.95	0.52	1.52	0.57	7.85

Proximate compositions (g/100 g) of the mostly commonly identified forage plants at the study sitesTabelle 5_ Näherungszusammensetzung (g/100 g) der am häufigsten identifizierten Futterpflanzen an den Untersuchungsstandorten

Forage plant	DM	CP	EE	CF	TA	NFE
Rural site
Eleasia guineensis	85.29	5.96	2.18	19.84	11.64	45.67
Dialium guineense	89.35	9.04	1.85	8.66	9.42	60.02
Persea americana	86.78	8.74	2.01	20.74	10.16	45.13
Aspilia africana	87.24	13.63	5.73	10.74	14.37	47.77
Veronia amygdalina	87.47	15.17	4.96	6.94	10.35	50.05
Pannisetum purpureum	85.81	9.11	1.98	22.28	9.21	43.23
Costus afer	86.85	9.00	1.66	13.53	9.05	53.57
Minimum	85.81	5.96	1.66	6.94	9.05	43.23
Maximum	89.35	15.17	5.73	22.28	14.37	60.02
Mean	86.97	10.09	2.91	14.67	10.60	49.35
SD	1.30	3.17	1.68	6.25	1.88	5.82
Peri-urban site
Pterocarpus santalinoides	88.64	14.06	6.11	9.95	8.56	49.96
Eleasia guineensis	86.35	9.12	2.25	19.71	9.61	45.66
Musa paradisiaca	87.94	9.09	1.47	26.15	11.87	38.85
Bambusa tulda	88.46	10.14	2.04	10.16	10.34	55.78
Aspilia africana	87.35	5.97	0.96	22.65	5.15	52.62
Persea americana	86.86	10.86	3.85	10.15	8.33	53.67
Dialium guineense	89.04	9.61	2.18	17.69	10.02	49.54
Minimum	86.35	5.97	0.96	9.95	5.15	38.85
Maximum	89.04	14.06	6.11	26.15	11.87	55.78
Mean	87.80	9.83	2.69	16.64	9.12	49.44
SD	0.99	2.42	1.75	6.65	2.11	7.70

Mineral concentrations (mg/kg) in the most commonly identified forage plants at the study sitesTabelle 6_ Mineralstoffkonzentrationen (mg/kg) in den am häufigsten identifizierten Futterpflanzen an den Untersuchungsstandorten

Forage plant	Ca	P	Na	K	Mg	Mn	Fe	Zn	Cu	Pb
Rural site
Eleasia guineensis	211.64	74.68	406.75	128.16	23.58	6.85	10.64	2.84	3.54	0.00
Dialium guineense	116.86	133.74	375.37	192.66	24.37	14.18	21.52	3.58	1.09	0.03
Persea americana	341.72	1108.57	724.17	173.59	62.18	27.22	21.21	3.60	1.07	0.51
Aspilia africana	165.65	79.55	615.98	151.56	11.87	19.64	12.60	2.71	1.56	0.08
Veronia amygdalina	116.18	317.62	194.51	291.35	18.25	17.85	38.81	1.94	0.41	0.00
Pannisetum purpureum	299.76	168.94	121.85	161.64	60.88	25.91	7.69	2.74	2.96	0.01
Costus afer	115.87	271.92	108.72	96.37	172.63	22.11	9.53	3.16	0.76	0.01
Minimum	115.87	74.68	108.72	96.37	11.87	6.85	7.69	1.94	0.41	0.00
Maximum	341.72	1108.57	724.17	291.35	172.63	27.22	38.81	3.60	3.54	0.51
Mean	195.38	307.86	363.91	170.76	53.38	19.11	17.43	2.94	1.63	0.09
SD	93.29	363.84	240.73	61.68	56.33	7.04	10.91	0.58	1.17	0.19
Peri-urban site
Pterocarpus santalinoides	202.76	118.72	486.85	106.86	10.87	15.26	17.47	3.16	1.85	0.09
Eleasia guineensis	418.61	928.46	500.84	137.93	55.76	19.53	23.44	3.54	1.07	0.51
Musa paradisiaca	328.76	1108.14	111.76	95.85	31.33	22.32	10.06	3.17	1.89	1.06
Bambusa tulda	99.67	412.65	295.16	179.64	33.10	19.40	20.17	4.52	2.03	0.01
Aspilia africana	1105.11	416.86	310.74	121.20	61.46	26.20	31.53	3.15	1.83	0.17
Persea americana	194.22	292.81	121.76	74.19	50.31	12.66	23.28	1.82	0.86	0.00
Dialium guineense	107.83	392.47	383.63	180.64	31.57	16.42	21.95	4.29	2.17	0.02
Minimum	99.67	118.72	111.76	74.19	10.87	12.66	10.06	1.82	0.86	0.00
Maximum	1105.11	1108.14	500.84	180.64	61.46	26.20	31.53	4.52	2.17	1.06
Mean	350.99	524.30	315.82	128.04	39.20	18.83	21.13	3.38	1.69	0.26
SD	351.80	356.76	156.97	40.74	17.57	4.54	6.53	0.89	0.50	0.39

Comparison of the relative nutrient supplies for small ruminants at the rural and peri-urban sitesTabelle 8_ Vergleich der relativen Nährstoffzufuhr für kleine Wiederkäuer an den ländlichen und stadtnahen Standorten

Proximate parameter (%)	Rural site	Peri-urban site	SEM	p < 0.05
Dry matter	86.97	87.80	0.32	0.202
Crude protein	10.09	9.83	0.72	0.867
Ether extract	2.91	2.69	0.44	0.818
Crude fiber	14.67	16.64	1.68	0.580
Total ash	10.60	9.12	0.55	0.193
Nitrogen-free extract	49.35	49.44	1.48	0.977

The frequency of occurrence of forage plants used in feeding small ruminants at the rural and peri-urban sitesTabelle 2_ Häufigkeit des Vorkommens von Futterpflanzen, die zur Fütterung kleiner Wiederkäuer in ländlichen und stadtnahen Gebieten verwendet werden

Number of occurrence	Frequency (%) in rural sites (n =18)	Frequency (%) in peri-urban sites (n = 15)	Overall frequency (%) (ⁿ = 33)
1	7 (38.89)	1 (6.67)	8 (24.24)
2	4 (22.22)	1 (6.67)	5 (15.15)
3	3 (16.67)	-	3 (9.09)
4	1 (5.56)	4 (26.67)	5 (15.15)
5	1 (5.56)	3 (20.00)	4 (12.12)
6	-	1 (6.67)	1 (3.03)
7	-	-	-
8	1 (5.56)	-	1 (3.03)
9	-	2 (13.33)	2 (6.06)
10	1 (5.56)	3 (20.00)	4 (12.12)

Total	18	15	33

Distribution of food-bearing plants used as forage for small ruminants by farmers at the rural and peri-urban sites in Imo stateTabelle 3_ Verteilung der Futterpflanzen, die von Landwirten in ländlichen und stadtnahen Gebieten im Bundesstaat Imo als Futter für kleine Wiederkäuer verwendet werden_

S/N	Food-bearing plants	Part used as food	Frequency (%) at the rural sites (n = 10)	Frequency (%) at the peri-urban sites (n = 12)	Overall frequency (%) (n = 22)
1	Pterocarpus mildraedii	Leaves	1 (10.00)	-	1 (4.55)
2	Dialium guineense	Seeds	8 (80.00)	5 (41.67)	13 (59.09)
3	Persea americana	Fruits	5 (50.00)	9 (75.00)	14 (63.64)
4	Vernonia amygdalina	Leaves	3 (30.00)	1 (8.33)	4 (18.18)
5	Manihot esculanta	Tuber	2 (20.00)	4 (33.33)	(27.27)
6	Psidium guajava	Fruits	1 (10.00)	5 (41.67)	6 (27.27)
7	Pterocarpus santalinoides	Leave	1 (10.00)	10 (83.33)	11 (50.00)
8	Eleasia guineensis	Oil nuts	10 (100.00)	10 (83.33)	20 (90.90)
9	Dacryodes edulis	Fruits	2 (20.00)	-	2 (9.09)
10	Musa acuminata/paradisiaca	Fruits	1 (10.00)	9 (75.00)	10 45.45)
11	Treculia africana	Seeds	-	5 (41.67)	5 (22.73)
12	Kola nitida	Nuts	-	4(33.33)	4 (18.18)
13	Spondia mombin	Plum	-	2 (16.67)	2 (9.09)
14	Microdesmus puberula	Leaves	-	4 (33.33)	4 (18.18)
	Number and percentages of food bearing plants		10 (55.56)	12 (80.00)	22 (66.67)

Forage Plants for Small Ruminant Feeding at Rural and Peri-Urban Sites in the Warm Humid Tropical Environment of Southeastern Nigeria

Figures & Tables

Comparison of the relative mineral supplies for small ruminants at the rural and peri-urban sitesTabelle 9_ Vergleich der relativen Mineralstoffversorgung für kleine Wiederkäuer an den ländlichen und stadtnahen Standorten

Diversity of forage plants used in feeding small ruminants by farmers at the rural and peri-urban sites in Imo stateTabelle 1_ Vielfalt der Futterpflanzen, die von Landwirten in ländlichen und stadtnahen Gebieten im Bundesstaat Imo zur Fütterung kleiner Wiederkäuer verwendet werden

Mean mineral ratios in the preferred forage plants at the sitesTabelle 7_ Mittlere Mineralstoffverhältnisse in den bevorzugten Futterpflanzen an den Standorten

Proximate compositions (g/100 g) of the mostly commonly identified forage plants at the study sitesTabelle 5_ Näherungszusammensetzung (g/100 g) der am häufigsten identifizierten Futterpflanzen an den Untersuchungsstandorten

Mineral concentrations (mg/kg) in the most commonly identified forage plants at the study sitesTabelle 6_ Mineralstoffkonzentrationen (mg/kg) in den am häufigsten identifizierten Futterpflanzen an den Untersuchungsstandorten

Comparison of the relative nutrient supplies for small ruminants at the rural and peri-urban sitesTabelle 8_ Vergleich der relativen Nährstoffzufuhr für kleine Wiederkäuer an den ländlichen und stadtnahen Standorten

The frequency of occurrence of forage plants used in feeding small ruminants at the rural and peri-urban sitesTabelle 2_ Häufigkeit des Vorkommens von Futterpflanzen, die zur Fütterung kleiner Wiederkäuer in ländlichen und stadtnahen Gebieten verwendet werden

Distribution of food-bearing plants used as forage for small ruminants by farmers at the rural and peri-urban sites in Imo stateTabelle 3_ Verteilung der Futterpflanzen, die von Landwirten in ländlichen und stadtnahen Gebieten im Bundesstaat Imo als Futter für kleine Wiederkäuer verwendet werden_

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