Nutrient content of native forage species and goat preference on rangelands in northeastern Mendoza, Argentina.

EGEA, V.; FUCILI, M.; PAEZ LAMA, S.; GRILLI, D.; ALLEGRETTI, L.

Mendoza

Jornada; XXVIII Annual Scientific Meeting of Cuyo Biology Society; 2010

Cuyo Biology Society

Forage species in northeastern Mendoza differ in their nutrient content. Grazing goats could select diets with high nutritional quality to meet their nutritional requirements. The objective of this work was to determine the relationships between forage nutrient content and goat preference. In July, botanical composition of diet was estimated on 12 free-ranging Creole goats by microhistological analysis of faeces. A bulk sample per goat was prepared from five fecal samples collected daily from each animal during 5 consecutive days. Forage species availability was determined using the Point Quadrat Method and the Ivlev?s index was used to evaluate goat preference. The content of crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), lignin, cellulose, metabolizable energy (ME) and dry matter of Prosopis sp., Geoffroea sp., Tricomaria sp., Mimosa sp., Capparis sp., Atriplex sp. and Panicum sp. were determined. Spearman correlation test was used to evaluate the relationship among nutrient content of forage species and preference index. The preference index showed a positive correlation with CP (r=0.65, p<0.001) and a weak negative correlation with ADF (r=-0.23, p<0.05). These results indicate that nutritional composition of forage species is one factor affecting diet selection of goats. Although, the effect of other animal and plant factors on diet selection of Creole goats should be studied..