Ulusal Çevre Bilimleri Araştırma Dergisi
Yazarlar: Nur KOC, Ayşegül KORKMAZ, Kamer GÜLCAN, Pamela ARACENA SANTOS
Konular:Çevre Bilimleri
Anahtar Kelimeler:Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt,Bassia prostrata (L.) A.J. Scott,Nutrient elements,Forage kochia,Four-wing saltbush,Protein content
Özet: Overgrazing and soil erosion have left many of Turkey’s pastures bare or with minimal vegetation available. Furthermore, The Central Anatolian Region’s rangelands have got many herbaceous plants, and these species qualities decrease during the dry feed period (i.e., between June and August). For this reason, these forage plants aren’t grazed by ruminants. Thus, small ruminants suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Forage shrubs plants are critically forage source to small ruminants during the dry feed period. Understanding the nutrient and protein content of forage plants could potentially open the new door to genetic breeding and advancement in pasture restoration. Therefore, our research aimed to compare the chemical content in the leaves and branches of two critically important forage shrub plants, Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt and Kochia prostrata (L.) Schrad [Syn. Bassia prostrata (L.) A.J. Scott], in the dry feed period, in order to establish their level of quality as forage plants. In the study, while the percentage of crude protein in the leaves of A. canescens and K. prostrata were found to be 15.01% and 12.93%, respectively, the ratio in the branch, however, was determined to be 5.14% and 7.16%, respectively. The Ca content in the leaves of A. canescens, and K. prostrata were found to be 1.55% and 1.91%, respectively; however, the K content was found to be 1.45% and 1.61%, respectively. As a result of the research, with the exception of the protein content in K. prostrata and A. canescens, the nutrient content in the branches was determined to be higher than in the leaves. Overall, we are concluded that both forage shrubs are important for Central Anatolian pastures with regard to their nutrients during the dry feed period.