LIGNOCELLULOSIC MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF DIFFERENT ACCESSIONS OF CARDOON (Cynara cardunculus L.)

MANCINI, MICAELA; LANZA VOLPE, MELISA; BADARACCO, PAULA; CRAVERO, VANINA

Buenos Aires

Simposio; 5th International Symposium of Forage Breeding; 2015

FAUBA

Cardoon is a perennial herbaceous botanical variety that belongs to the same species that the globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L.). This plant is well adapted to semi-arid conditions with high biomass production per hectare. In Argentina, this species could be potentially cultivated from the north to the center of the country. Several studies have postulated the cardoon as a source for different industrial applications, such as: biofuels production, paper pulp, fertilizer and fodder. The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential use of the lignocellulosic material of cardoon as feed for livestock. Two accessions of wild cardoon (Pergamino, Ruta 9) and two of cultivated cardoon (Zavalla, Lumbier), were evaluated in this study. All the above ground biomass was collected at the end of the productive cycle and the following traits were evaluated: dry matter production per plant (stalks and leaves weight), lignocellulosic chemical composition (FDN, FDA, lignin and crude protein) and in vitro digestibility. Both cultivated cardoon produced greater amount of dry matter than the wild accessions, mean values were 887.2g/plant for Zavalla, 759.8g/p for Lumbier, 415.37g/plant for Pergamino and 302.25g/plant for Ruta 9. The chemical composition analysis showed a high variability among the different accessions. The range for FDN, FDA and lignin were 73.16-83.28%, 54.18-60.55% and 9.89-12.62%, respectively. In all cases the wild cardoon accessions showed intermediate values among the range, whereas the extremes were represented by the cultivated ones (Zavalla showed the highest values and Lumbier the lowest). In general, the protein content was low, ranging from 2.37 to 4.81% (the highest value corresponds to Lumbier). The percentage of digestibility was also variable, with values ranging from 36.87% (Pergamino) to 41.97% (Zavalla). The analysis performed clearly defines the variability present not only between botanical varieties of cardoon (wild vs. cultivated), but also between accessions. Considering the whole exploitation of this species, i. e. oil extraction from seed for biodiesel production, protein cake for fertilizer or dietary supplement; these results showed that the harvest by product of C. cardunculus could be potentially used for animal feed, but in vivo studies should be conducted.