Evaluation of camel rangeland plants in south Khorasan & investigation the effect of substitution of alfalfa hay by Seidlitzia rosmarinus on performance of dairy camels

In this study, the nutritional value of four camel rangeland plants, including Alhaghi Sp (AS), Haloxylon persicum (HP), Seidlitzia rosmarinous (SR)  and Tamarix Gallica (TG) in different phenological growth stages including vegetating, flowering and seeding were evaluated. Rangeland specieswere randomly sampled and their chemical composition were measured. Rumen digestibility of dry matter was assessed using a fistulated camel. The results showed that the amount of crude protein of AS and SR was higher than that of other species, Also, the lowest levels of natural detergent fibers, acid detergent fibers and tannins were observed in SR (P <0/05). Slowly degradable fraction, degradation rate and effective degradability of SR was significantly higher than other species (P <0/05). Results of this study showed that SR was better than other rangeland species due to its high crude protein content and lower acid detergent fiber and phenolic compounds, so it was used instead of alfalfa at three levels of zero, 50 and %100 in camel’s diet. Feeding SR did not affect milk yield and its components including fat, lactose and total solids. Dry matter intake of dairy camels decreased with increasing of SR in diet, but milk protein and urea nitrogen increased (P <0/05). The results of this study indicated that replacement of alfalfa hay with SR in feeding dairy camels while maintaining camel production performance, reduc the cost of feeding camel and made it more economical to rear this valuable livestock.