Phenological effects on forage quality of two halophyte species Atriplex leucoclada and Suaeda vermiculata in four saline rangelands of Iran

Abstract

Halophyte plant species vary considerably in their nutritive value. Information on forage quality of halophytes in each phenological stage could help range managers choose suitable plant species for cultivation and also determine suitable grazing time to achieve higher animal performance in saline rangelands. Therefore, the effect of phenological stages (vegetative, flowering and seed ripening) on six forage quality traits as: dry matter digestibility (DMD), water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), metabolizable energy (ME) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were determined in two halophyte range species, Atriplex leucoclada and Suaeda vermiculata. These halophyte species were collected (harvested) from four saline rangelands of Iran: Fars, Hormozgan, Khoozestan and Semnan provinces. Collected data were analyzed using a factorial experiment for species, phenological stages and interaction effects between species and phenological stage. The results showed that phenological stage of growth, location and species had a significant effect (P<0.01) on forage quality. Forage quality was highest when the plants were in vegetative stage and they tend to drop sharply by advancing maturity. In comparison among four salinity areas, the highest and lowest values of forage quality were obtained from Semnan and Fars. Higher quality values were recorded for Suaeda vermiculata in all locations.