Atriplex nummularia (Old Man Saltbush): A Potential Forage Crop for Arid Regions of Botswana

Abstract: Atriplex nummularia (Old man saltbush) is widely planted on salt affected land to provide a vegetative cover, which can be used as fodder reserve. Such plantations are also perceived as having the capacity to use saline groundwater and hence affect the extent of shallow water tables. Atriplex spp. contains high concentrations of nitrogen (N) in winter as compared to summer when it has high concentrations of sodium. The sum of soluble protein-N, amino acid-N, nucleic acid-N and nitrate-N is about half of the total nitrogen. The remainder includes non-soluble protein-N and other N associated with cell membranes and walls. Phosphorus is known to uniformly distribute among pools of inorganic-P, phytate-P, nucleic acid-P and other (residual) fractions. This paper reviews the potentials of A. nummularia as a forage for arid areas of Botswana with saline ground water. Key words: Atriplex nummularia, salt affected land, halophyte