Chemical evaluation, in vitro ruminal dry matter (DM) degradability and ruminal biological activity of common browse tree fruits of Alice

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of species variations on chemical composition and in vitro ruminal degradability of Vachellia karroo, Grewia Occidentalis, Diospyros Lycioides and Ziziphus Mucronata fruits harvested from communally grazed lands in Alice, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The browse fruits were collected between February and May and analysed for crude protein (CP), dry matter (DM), ash, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), organic matter (OM) and acid detergent lignin (ADL), condensed tannins (CT), macro minerals (Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Potassium (K), Sodium (Na) and Phosphorus(P)) and micro minerals (Ion (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn) and Copper (Cu)). There was significant variation (P0.05). There was a significant variation between browse species in macro and micro mineral contents. Fruits from G. Occindelis (43.93 g/kg DM) and V. Karroo (43.44 g/kg DM) had higher (P<0.05) Ca content compared to Z. Mucronata (24.06 g/kg DM) and D. Lycioides (20.06 g/kg DM). Ziziphus Muronata had higher (P