USE OF TROPICAL FRUITS (FABACEAE) FOR DIETARY COMPLEMENT OF SMALL RUMINANTS

Abstract

In the tropics of México the traditional diet of small ruminants in extensive systems consists of grazing in grasslands (Poaceae), which vary in availability and quality throughout the year. During the drought season, a nutritional imbalance takes place for the animals because grasses in that season are dry and scarce, they have low crude protein concentration, high concentration of neutral detergent fiber (FND), low apparent digestibility, and low concentration of metabolizable energy, affecting animal production. It is important to suggest some dietary alternatives for the animals, which do not compete fundamentally with man, which are of good quality and turn out to be accessible because of their low cost, such as fruits from species of the Fabaceae family; because of their nutritional value and production during dry times,
these can contribute to covering the dietary needs of the animals in the low water period and to improving animal production.