Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
Abstract
South Khorasan province with vast rangelands with an arid and semi-arid climate and specific species is one of the most suitable areas for camel breeding. Despite the importance of camel in the province, no research has been conducted on species selection by camel as well as its relation to chemical factors of plants. Therefore this research was aimed to investigate the relationship between palatability and nutritive value of range species in south of Birjand. For this purpose, the selection of range species by camel was investigated in three phenological stages of vegetative, flowering and seeding using chronometer. For each stage, the study was conducted during three days in the morning and evening. In this technique, each camel was followed for 30 minutes during the feeding. In addition, plant samples were collected for chemical analysis. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 15 software. Results indicated that there were no significant differences between preference value and chemical composition of species. The highest values of DMD, ME and CP as well as the lowest CF, ADF and NDF were recorded for Seidlitzia rosmarinus. According to the obtained results, the effects of chemical composition on species palatability varied from one species to another one. However, these effects depend on different factors including vegetation composition, available forage, species distribution, livestock taste and so forth.
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