Forage quality of five halophytes at different growth stages in Zaminsang and Sirik regions of Hormozgan province

To determine the nutritional value of five halophytes, Aeluropus lagopoides, Atriplex leucoclada, Desmostachya bipinnata, Halopyrum mucronatum, and Halocnemum strobilaceum, this study was conducted in 2016 in Hormozgan province. Plant samples were collected in three phenological stages including vegetative growth, flowering and seeding, and eight forage quality traits (CP, DMD, WSC, ADF, CF, NDF, ME and ash percentage were measured. Data analysis of variance was performed as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design and the means were compared with Duncan's multiple rsnge test in SPSS software. The results showed that the effect of species for all traits, the effect of phenological growth stages for four traits: (CP), (DMD), (ash), and (ME), and the interaction effect of species and phenological growth stage were significant for all quality indicators except (WSC). The highest forage quality was obtained at vegetative growth stage and Atriplex leucoclada was superior to other halophytes in terms of nutritional value. Therefore, the use of this native species instead of non-native ones of this genus is recommended in rangeland improvement of areas with similar rainfall.