Seasonal Variation in Foliage Quality of Acacia modesta Wall. Growing in Different Ecological
Zones of Pothwar
Muhammad Yasin*, M. Mehmood-ul- Hassan*, Rizwan Ahmad* , Atiya Azim**, ,Irshad A.
Khan***and Muhammad Arshad Ullah*
* LRRI, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad
** Animal Nutrition, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad
*** Department of Forestry and Range Management, AAUR, Rawalpindi
ABSTRACT
Acacia modesta Wall. is a semi evergreen tropical legume tree which produces highly valuable and
nutritious forage for ruminants. It is wildly growing forage shrub in semi-arid with hot summers and
cold winters climate of Pothwar. In this study, the seasonal variability in nutritive value of foliage of
Acacia modesta wall.was evaluated. Leaves & twigs of Acacia modesta were collected from low,
medium and high rainfall Pothwar regions i.e. Rawalpindi, Jehlum and Talagang during spring,
summer and fall seasons. The forage samples were analyzed for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP),
ether extract (EE), ash content, crude fibre (CF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre
(NDF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL). Dry matter varied from 44.3 to 65.0 percent and was
significantly higher during fall than spring and summer season at all three sites. Talagang site had the
highest dry matter followed by Jehlum and Rawalpindi sites. The crude protein (CP) was in the range
of 14.4-17.4 %. The CP was in order of spring, summer and fall season. Rawalpindi had the highest CP
(16.4 %) by Jehlumand (15.9 %) Talagang site. Ash content and ether extract (EE) ranged from 5.8 to
10.4% and from 1.1 to 3.2% in season and site interaction. Crude fibre (CF) value ranged from 19.9 to
27.6 percent and was significantly higher in fall than spring and summer. The highest CF (24.6%) was
found at Rawalpindi followed by Jehlum (21.6%) and Talagang (22.1%). Acid detergent fibre (ADF)
and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) ranged from 34.0 to 38.9 and 47.4 to 61.2 percent, respectively in
site and season.The ADF and NDF were lower in summer season than in spring and fall seasons. ADF
was the highest (36.4%) at Jhelum followed by Talagang (36.3%) and Rawalpindi site (35.9%).The
ADL ranged from 9.8 to 13.4 percent and was higher in summer than in spring and fall seasons. In
general, forage quality parameters of twigs and leaves of Phulai varied during the seasons at
Rawalpindi, Jehlum and Talagang. Based on chemical composition, it was concluded that Acacia
modesta foliage contained high nutritional values and can be fed to ruminants as supplements to lowquality feeds particularly during the dry season.
Key words: Seasonal variation, forage quality, spring, summer, fall, crude protein, crude fibre, acid
detergent fibre, neutral detergent fibre
INTRODUCTION
Pothwar is a semi-arid region with hot summer and cold winter and with a short dry season early in the
summer. Scarcity and fluctuating in quantity and quality of the year-round supply of fodder due to
1
seasonal variation are major constraints of the area (Noor,1989).This fluctuation in quality and
quantity can be regulated through supplementation of tree foliages (Leucaena leucocephala, Acacia
modesta, Ziziphus mauritiana etc.) in ruminant feeds which can improve the utilization of low quality
roughages mainly by supplying protein to rumen microbes (Charbonneau, 2007). Several shrubs in the
dry areas have potential as stock-feed and for re-vegetation of degraded rangelands, but quantitative
data on their fodder yield and quality are scanty (PARC, 1998).
Acacia modesta Wall.is a valuable browse shrub for pothwar because of its adaptation and productivity
in dry climate and marginal land. It is relished by all species of livestock due to palatability and
nutritional values. It is a semi evergreen tropical legume tree, commonly known as Phulai in Pothwar
(Noor, 1989).It is a fast growing tree in its early age and grows well within the range of 250-1350 mm
annual rainfall; temperatures of 40oC to below zero. It is strong light demander and fairly drought
resistant. It can grow in barren land and eroded sites but grows much better in deep soil of Pothwar.
(Khan and Khan,2000).
It is classified as an important component of subtropical dry evergreen forest, in which Olea ferruginea
(kau) is the tropical tree species. It has rounded bushy crown comprising of drooping branchlet sand
feathery foliages. It sheds leaves in winter and new leaves appear in early spring. The pods ripen in
autumn and remain on tree for a long time from April to June (Alvi et al., 1995). It is small or medium
size deciduous tree. It produces highly valuable and nutritious forage for sheep, goats and cattle for the
production of milk and meat (Khan and Khan, 2000).
Forage quality is a fair indicator of feeding values of plant species. Information of seasonal variation
provides a guideline for utilizing tree fodder at specific stages to ensure optimum use (FAO, 1987).
Literature review indicates that little information is available about seasonal variation in forage quality.
Thus, the present study was designed to determine the variation in forage quality of Acacia modesta
Wall in spring, summer and fall seasons at Rawalpindi, Jehlum and Talagang area of Pothwar.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Precipitations of regions: Total precipitation in spring, summer, and fall at Rawalpindi region was
252, 198 and 147mm, at Jehlum region 889, 409 and 390 and at Talagang region 179, 143 and 70 mm,
respectively (Table 1) during the study year.
Sample collection: Five Acacia modesta trees were sampled at random from 200m2area of each
rangeland of Rawalpindi, Jhelum and Talagang of Pothwar in three different seasons i.e., spring,
2
summer and fall. Samples of leaves and twigs were harvested from branches at the height up to 5 ft
(the normal height range of animal browsing fodder trees).
Sample preparation and analysis The samples were packed in plastic bags to conserve the moisture
and brought to Animal Nutrition Laboratory, NARC, Islamabad to determine the fresh weight of the
samples. The samples were then washed with de-ionized, distilled water, oven dried at 70oC for till
constant weight, ground in plant crusher and stored for analysis. The samples were analyzed for dry
matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE) and crude fibrre (CF) using standard methods as
described in AOAC, (1990) and for acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid
detergent lignin (ADL) according to the procedures described by Van Soest et al. (1991).
Statistical analysis: The data was performed using Completely Randomized Block two factor factorial
design, using M STAT-C. The means obtained were compared by Duncan's Multiple Range Test
(DMRT) at 5 % level of significance (Douglas, 2009).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Dry matter (DM) varied from 44.3 to 65.0 %. The DM was significantly higher during fall spring and
summer season at all the sites (Fig.1).Among the sites, 56.6 % DM of forage at Talagang was the
highest followed by 53.9 % at Jehlum and 52.8 % at Rawalpindi site (Table 2).Among the seasons, the
highest DM (63.7 %) was found in fall season followed by spring (52.7 %) and summer (46.9 %) as
presented in Table2. The results were similar to the findings of El-Toukhyet al. (2005) who observed
in an experiment that the highest value of forage dry matter was obtained from plants browsed during
the dry season.
Crude protein (CP) was in the rangeof 14.4 -17.4%. The CP was significantlyhigher during springthan
summer and fall (Fig. 2). Among the sites, the CP (16.4 %) at Rawalpindi and Jehlum sites was found
higher than15.9 % at Talagang site (Table 2).Among the seasons, the CP(17.4 %) was the highest
during spring followed by 16.5 % in summer and 15.2 % in fall (Table 2).Increase in CP can be
attributed to suitable soil temperature and moisture content in spring as compared to fall (Evitayani et
al., 2006).
Ash content value ranged from 5.8 to 10.4 %. The Ash content (10.4 %) was significantly the highest
at Rawalpindi site during summer and the lowest (5.8 %) at Talagang site during fall season (Fig
3).Among the sites, ash content (8.4%) was found higher at Rawapindi than the value (7.9) at Jehlum
and Talagang (Table 2). Among the seasons, ash content (9.8%) was the highest in summer followed
3
by spring (8.2 %) and 6.2 % fall season (Table 2) confirmed the earlier observations of Papanastasis et
al. (2008)
Relatively, a narrow range of 1.1-3.2% was found in ether extract(EE) and the highest EE(3.2 %) was
observed during summer and the lowest EE (1.1 %) during fall season at Rawalpindi site(Fig.
4).Among the sites, 2.3 % EE was found significantly the highest at Talagang followed by 2.1 % at
Rawalpindi and 1.9 % at Jehlum (Table2).Among the seasons, EE (2.7 %) was the highest in summer
followed by spring (2.2 %) and fall (1.5 %)(Table2).Increase in of EE could be attributed to desirable
soil temperature, rainfall in spring and summer as compared to fall. The results are strong agreement
with the findings of Sunil et al. (2003) and Tesfay (2004) who reported that EE was higher in wet
season in different shrubs than dry season.
Crude fibre values were varied between 19.9 and 27.6%.Contrary to EE,the highest CF (27.6 %) was
found at Rawalpindi during fall and the lowest (19.9 %)during summer at Jehlum (Fig. 5). Among the
sites, Rawalpindi had statistically higher CF (24.6) than Jehlum (21.6 %) and Talgang (22.1 %) as
Table 2. Among the season, CF (25.5 %) was the highest in fall followed by spring (22.3 %) and
summer (20.6 %) (Table 2). Increase in the CF in fall season could be attributed to most probably low
rainfall and low soil and atmospheric temperatures and fallen leaves as compared to summer season.
These are the possible factors which contribute the increase in CF during fall. The results are quite
similar to the findings of Evitayani et al. (2006).
Nitrogen free extract (NFE) value ranged from 47.6 to 53.3 %. The NFE was the highest in spring and
fall at Talagang site and the lowest in Rawalpindi site during spring season (Fig 6).Among the sites,
NFE values, 52.2% at Jehlum, 51.8% at Talagang and 48.3% at Rawalpindi and the differences were
non-significant (Table 2). Similarly, statistically non significant differences were found in NFE (51.7
%) in fall and spring (50.2 %) but significant low in summer (50.4 %) (Table 2). Increase in NFE can
be attributed to low rain fall and low soil and atmospheric temperatures during fall and spring seasons
as compared to summer season. The results are in close conformity with the findings of Evitayani et al.
(2006) who investigated that in general NFE was lower in the rainy season than in the dry season.
ADF value ranged from 34.0 to 38.9%. The ADF (38.9 %) was significantly higher in spring at
Talagang site than34.0% at Jehlum site in summer season(Fig. 7).Among the sites, 36.4 % ADF
atJehlum was significantly higher than 36.3% at Talagang and 35.9% at Rawalpindi (Table 3).Among
the seasons, 38.5%ADF in spring was the highest followed by 35.8% in fall season and 34.4 % in
summer (Table 4).Increase in ADF in fall and spring can be attributed low rain fall, low soil and
4
atmospheric temperatures and fallen leaves as compared to summer season. The results are in close
conformity with the findings of Evitayani et al. (2006) who investigated that In general, ADF was
lower in the rainy season than in the dry season.
NDF was in the range of 47.4-61.2%. The highest 61.2%NDFwasin fall season at Rawalpindiand the
lowest (47.4 %) during summer at Jehlum (Fig. 8).Further58.1 % NDF at Rawalpindi was the highest
followed by 53.8 % at Talagang site and 51.8 % at Jehlum (Table 3). Among the seasons, 56.6 % NDF
in spring and fall were the same and significantly higher than (50.5%) during summer (Table 4).
Increase in the value of NDF in fall and spring season could be attributed to low rain fall, low soil and
atmospheric temperatures and fallen leaves in fall as compared to summer season. Evitayani et al.
(2006) gave similar views that in general, NDF was lower in the rainy season than in the dry season.
Acid detergent lignin (ADL) ranged from 3.4 to 9.8%. The ADL was significantly the highest (13.4
%) in summer and the lowest (9.6%) in spring at Talagang(Fig. 9).Among the sites,11.4 %ADL at
Rawalpindi site and was higher than 11.3 % at Jehlum and 11.2 % at Talagang (Table 3). Among the
seasons, the highest ADL (12.6 %) was found in summer followed by 11.0%inspring and 10.3 %in fall
(Table 4).Increase in ADL in summer can be attributed to old leaves, and high atmospheric
temperature and higher growth of twigs due to high rain fall. The results are disagreed with the
findings of Evitayani et al. (2006) who claimed that in general, ADL was lower in the rainy season
than in the dry season.
Forage quality parameters such as dry matter, crude protein, ash content, ether extract, and nitrogen
free extract of Acacia modesta Wall.were found better in summer (wet) season. Cell wall parameters
such as neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre of were found higher in spring and fall (dry)
season. The study might be helpful to explore potential of. to supply protein rich sufficient dry matter
to range grazing small ruminants in pothwar during the winter months when no other green fodder was
available.
5
LITERATURE CITED
Alvin, P., C. Rey and J.Y. Frappier, 1995.Therapeutic compliance in adolescents with chronic illness].
Arch Pediatr, 2(9), 874-882. [Ar ticle in French].
AOAC. 1990. Official Methods of Analysis. Association of the Official Analytical Chemists.
Arlington, Virginia, USA.
Charbonneau, E., P.Y. Chouinard, G. Allard, H. Lapierre and D. Pellerin. 2007. Milk from forage as
affected by rumen degradable protein and corn grinding When Feeding Corn- and Alfalfa
Silage-Based Diets: J Dairy Sci., 90(2): 823 - 832.
Douglas, C.M. 2009. The two factor factorial design in design and analysis of experiments 7th edition,
Jhon Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, United Sates of America, 166 pp.
El-Toukhy,S. A.and K.M. Ahmed. 2005. Response of halophyte fodder shrubs to cutting intervals and
organic manure application. Egyptian J. of Agronomy; 27(2): 71-80.
Evitayani, W.L., A. Fariani, A. Ichinohe, T. Hayashida, M. Razak and T. Fujihara. 2006. Macro
mineral distribution of forages in South Sumatra during rainy and dry seasons. J. of Food,
Agriculture and Environment; 4(2): 155-160.
FAO, 1987. Pakistan’s experience in rangeland rehabilitation and improvement. Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations. 70pp.
Khan, N. and J.A. Khan. 2000. Pothwar scrub ranges in "Rangeland Management in Pakistan".
Reproduced by National Book Foundation of Pakistan. pp. 16-17.
Noor, M. 1989. Rangeland Management in Pakistan. ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal. 193 pp.
Papanastasis, V. P., M. D. Yiakoulaki, M. Decandia and O. Dini. 2008. Integrating woody species into
livestock feeding in the Mediterranean areas of Europe. Animal Feed Sci. and Technology;
140(1/2): 1-17
PARC. 1998. National Forage and Fodder Research Programme. Natural Resources Division, Pakistan
Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad.
Sunil, K., J. P. Singh, B. K. Bhadoria and J. N. Gupta. 2003. Evaluation of some indigenous fodder
shrubs in semi-arid region of Bundelkhand. Range Management and Agroforestry; 24(2): 114117.
Tesfay, T. 2004. Seasonal dynamics in the concentrations of macronutrients and organic constituents in
green and senesced leaves of three agroforestry species in southern Ethiopia. Plant and Soil;
267(1/2): 297-307.
Van Soest, P. J., J. B. Robertson and B.A. Lewis. 1991. Methods for dietary fibre, neutral detergent
fibre in relation to animal nutrition. J. Dairy Sci., 74: 3583-3597.
6
Table 1. Total monthly/seasonal rainfall and average temperature for different ecological zones of pothwar during
the foliage sampling period (2008)
Rawalpindi
Jehlum
Talagang
2008
Rainfall
TemperatureoC
Rainfall
TemperatureoC
Rainfall
TemperatureoC
Month
(mm)
Max.
Min.
(mm)
Max.
Min.
(mm)
Max.
Min.
44.4
14.2
2.2
110.1
15.2
3.4
59.3
17.2
3.7
January
36.2
18.9
5.7
41.8
19.3
4.9
20.4
21.5
7.1
February
March
19.1
29.8
11.8
7.0
31.4
15.0
0.1
30.0
13.3
April
Spring
(Jan.-April)
May
81.0
29.7
15.8
111.0
32.0
18.0
66.3
29.9
15.3
252.0
23.5
9.0
197.7
25.5
11.0
147.0
23.3
9.1
10.1
36.9
20.7
36.5
37.8
23.5
55.2
37.3
31.8
June
225.2
35.6
22.3
184.8
35.5
25.7
215.8
35.4
23.2
July
432.5
35.1
22.8
120.6
34.8
25.6
76.5
34.9
24.4
August
Summer
(May-Aug.)
September
221.0
33.3
23.0
66.6
34.8
25.9
42.6
34.4
24.2
888.8
35.2
22.2
408.5
35.7
25.2
390.1
35.5
25.9
65.8
32.9
19.7
65.3
34.3
23.4
12.6
34.1
20.6
October
24.0
31.0
15.4
24.0
32.9
19.3
8.0
32.8
19.3
November
18.0
25.2
8.2
0.2
28.1
11.1
0.0
26.2
10.3
49.4
20.4
7.1
70.0
28.4
14.3
71.5
20.8
5.5
54.0
23.0
8.6
December
Fall
179.3
27.5
12.2
143.5
29.6
15.6
(Sep.-Dec.)
Source: National Agromet Centre, Pakistan Meteorological Department, Islamabad
Table 2.Site and seasonal variation in proximate composition (%) of foliage
Site
Rawalpindi Jehlum Talagang LSD(0.05)
Spring
Composition
52.8 c
53.9 b
56.6 a
0.96
52.7 b
Dry matter
a
a
b
16.4
16.4
15.9
0.40
17.1 a
Crude protein
a
b
b
8.4
7.9
7.9
0.23
8.2 b
Ash content
b
c
a
2.1
1.9
2.3
0.07
2.2 b
Ether extract
a
b
b
24.6
21.6
22.1
0.67
22.3 b
Crude fibre
b
a
a
48.3
52.2
51.8
0.61
50.2 b
Nitrogen free extract
Values sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly at 5 % by DMRT
Nitrogen free extract = 100-(CP+CF+EE+ash)
Table 3. Site variation in cell wall constituents(%)of foliage
Sites
NDF
ADF
58.1 a
Rawalpindi
51.8 c
Jehlum
53.8 b
Talagang
0.14
LSD(0.05)
Values sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly
35.9 c
36.4 a
36.3 b
0.07
Table 4: Seasonal variation in cell wall constituents (%)of foliage
NDF
ADF
Seasons
56.6 a
Spring
50.53 b
Summer
56.6 a
Fall
0.14
LSD(0.05)
Values sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly
38.5 a
34.4 c
35.8 b
0.07
7
Season
Summer
Fall
46.9 c
63.7 a
16.5 b
15.2 c
a
9.8
6.2 c
a
2.7
1.5 c
c
20.6
25.5 a
b
50.4
51.7 a
ADL
11.4 a
11.3 ab
11.2 b
0.18
ADL
11.0 b
12.6 a
10.3 c
0.18
LSD(0.05)
0.96
0.40
0.23
0.07
0.67
0.61
70
Dry matter %
60
55
a
ab b
65
c
Rawalpindi
Jehlum
d d
e e
50
Talagang
f
45
40
35
Spring
Summer
Fall
Figure 1. Effect of site and season interaction on dry matter (%) of foliage of Acacia
modesta Wall. in different ecological zones of Pothwar
LSD(0.05) Site x Season = 1.67
17.5
Crude protein %
17.0
a
Bars sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly
a
ab
16.5
ab
b bc
Rawalpindi
Jehlum
Talagang
cd
16.0
d
15.5
15.0
e
14.5
14.0
Spring
Summer
Fall
Figure 2. Effect of site and season interaction on crude protein (%) of foliage of
Acacia modesta Wall. in different ecological zones of Pothowar
LSD(0.05) Site x Season = 0.69
Bars sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly
8
11.0
a a
10.0
Ash %
9.0
8.0
7.0
b
c
d
de
ef
Rawalpindi
Jehlum
Talagang
fg
6.0
g
5.0
Spring
Summer
Fall
Figure 3.Effect of site and season interaction on ash (%) of foliage of Acacia
modesta Wall. In different ecological zones of Pothwar
LSD(0.05) Site x Season = 0.41 Bars sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly
Ether extract %
3.5
a
3.0
2.5
2.0
b
b
e e
d
Rawalpindi
Jehlum
Talagang
e
1.5
g
f
1.0
0.5
Spring
Summer
Fall
Fig 4. Effect of site and season interaction on ether extrac (%) of
foliage of Acacia modesta in different ecological zones of Pothwar
LSD(0.05) Site x Season = 0.15 Bars sharing the same letter(s) do
not differ significantly
9
Crude fibre %
29.0
a
27.0
b
25.0
23.0
b b
c c
c
d cd
21.0
Rawalpindi
Jehlum
Talagang
19.0
17.0
Spring
Summer
Fall
Fig 5. Effect of site and season interaction on crude fibr (%)
of foliage of Acacia modesta in different ecological zones of
Pothwar
LSD(0.05) Site x Season = 0.98 Bars sharing the same letter(s) do
not differ significantly
Nitrogen free extract %
54.0
ab
53.0
a
ab
a
bc
52.0
c
51.0
50.0
de
49.0
48.0
Rawalpindi
Jehlum
Talagang
d
e
47.0
46.0
45.0
Spring
Summer
Fall
Figure 6. Effect of site and season interaction on nitrogen free
extract (%) of foliage of Acacia modesta Wall. in differentecological zones of
Pothowar
LSD(0.05) Site x Season = 1.06 Bars sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly
10
40.0
b a
Acid detergent fibre %
39.0
c
38.0
d
37.0
Rawalpindi
Jehlum
Talagang
e
36.0
g
35.0
f
i h
34.0
33.0
32.0
Spring
Summer
Fall
Figure 7. Effect of site and season interaction on ADF (%) of
foliage of Acacia modesta in different ecological zones
of Pothwar
LSD(0.05) Site x Season = 0.12
Bars sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly
Neutral detergent fibre %
65.0
a
b
60.0
c
d
e
55.0
Rawalpindi
Jehlum
f
g
Talagang
50.0
i
45.0
Spring
Summer
Fall
Fig. 8. Effect of site and season interaction on Neutral detergent fibre (%) of foliage of
Acacia modesta in different ecological zones of Pothwar
LSD(0.05) Site x Season = 0.24
Bars sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly
11
a
Acid dtergent lignin %
14.0
a
13.0
12.0
11.0
10.0
b
bc
d
e
e
d c
Rawalpindi
Jehlum
Talagang
9.0
8.0
Spring
Summer
Fall
Figure 9. Effect of site and season interaction on acid detergent
lignin (%) of foliage of Acacia modesta Wall. in different
ecological zones of Pothwar
LSD(0.05) Site x Season = 0.31
Bars sharing the same letter(s) do not differ significantly
12