NUTRITIVE VALUE OF TYPHA FOR RUMINANTS

Abstract

Samples from a 2-m height Typha plant in a preblooming state (without flowering spike) were collected at Hadejia riverside in the Hadejia valley (northern Nigeria) in January 2018. The sample was separated in leaves and stem (without roots), and both fractions were dried (45ºC, 48 h) to determine dry matter (DM) content. Samples of locally available feeds (oat hay, barley straw and corn grains) were used for comparative purposes. All samples were ground (1 mm pore size) before analysis of chemical composition and in vitro incubations. A total of four adult rumen-fistulated sheep were used as rumen fluid donors for
the in vitro incubations to assess gas production kinetics. The results show that Typha plant had similar DM degradability to that of barley straw indicating that it could replace low-quality forages, such as cereal straw, in ruminant diets. However, studies measuring voluntary intake and in vivo digestibility are needed to confirm these results.