| Resumo: |
Fruit tree and poplar leaves that fall in autumn are undervalued in terms of animal feeding mainly because of insufficient knowledge about their potential feeding value. Knowledge of the nutritional values of these species may be important to supplement the feed of grazing animals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential fodder value of leaves of plum, apple, poplar, mulberry, peach and apricot trees. For this purpose, samples were collected by hand in autumn 2012 and 2013 when 50% of the leaves had dropped and 90% of the leaves had turned yellow. The crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), dry matter digestibility (DMD), digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME) and relative feed value (RFV) contents were determined. The CP, DMD, DE, ME and RFV contents of peach leaves were significantly (P≤0.01) higher than those of the other trees, but they had lower NDF, ADF and ADL ratios. The lowest CP, DMD, DE, ME, RFV contents and the highest NDF, ADF, ADL values were measured in poplar leaves. According to these results, the tree leaves had a higher nutritional value than many forage grass species and hay fodder commonly used for livestock feeding. Consequently, orchard and poplar leaves that drop in autumn can be used as an alternative fodder source for livestock feeding.
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