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

This study was conducted to compare forage quality of two native halophytespecies Camphorosma monspeliaca and Limonium iranicum collected from Meighansaline rangelands near Arak city in center of Iran. Edible biomass of both species wassampled on three phonological stages (vegetative growth, full flowering and seedripening). 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 resultsindicated there were significant differences (p<0.01) between species and phenologicalstages. L. iranicum had the highest CP (14.62%) in vegetative stage while C. monspeliacahad the lowest CP (5.39%) in flowering stage. C. monspeliaca also exhibited the highestRelative 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 progressingphonological stages while ADF and NDF, increased. Our findings showed that thesehalophyte species contain reasonable CP level which could provide N requirements ofgrazing animals whereas Phosphorus was deficient for sheep, suggesting supplementaryfeeding. The results support the good potential of halophytes and salt tolerant plants assource of livestock fodders and arid and semi-arid rangelands improvement.