Variations in Forage Quality of Two Halophyte Species, Camphorosma monspeliaca and Limonium iranicum at Three Phenological Stages

Abstract. This study was conducted to compare forage quality of two native halophyte species Camphorosma monspeliaca and Limonium iranicum collected from Meighan saline rangelands near Arak city in center of Iran. Edible biomass of both species was sampled on three phonological stages (vegetative growth, full flowering and seed ripening). Forage quality indices such as Crude Protein (CP), Dry Matter Digestibility (DMD), Dry Matter Intake (DMI), Metabolizable Energy (ME), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) and Phosphorus (P) were evaluated. The results indicated there were significant differences (p < 0.01) between species and phenological stages. L. iranicum had the highest CP (14.62%) in vegetative stage while C. monspeliaca had the lowest CP (5.39%) in flowering stage. C. monspeliaca also exhibited the highest Relative Feeding Values (RFV=135.9), which was significantly different from those of L. iranicum. In both species, the CP, DMD and ME were decreased with progressing phonological stages while ADF and NDF, increased. Our findings showed that these halophyte species contain reasonable CP level which could provide N requirements of grazing animals whereas Phosphorus was deficient for sheep, suggesting supplementary feeding. The results support the good potential of halophytes and salt tolerant plants as source of livestock fodders and arid and semi-arid rangelands improvement.