Nutrient Value of Saltwort (Salicornia herbacea L.) as Feed for Ruminants

Saltwort (Salicornia herbacea L.), a kind of halophytes in Japan, is under investigation as a feed source for livestock as well as potential oilseed crop in salt marshes and salt fields. The present experiment was undertaken to analyze the nutritive value of saltwort as feed for ruminants. To determine the apparent digestibility and nutritive value of saltwort, five Japanese native goats were fed the diets consisting of alfalfa hay cubes with 15 or 20% (n=3 and n=2, respectively) inclusion levels of saltwort in the total diet on a DM basis. All the animals were randomly offered alfalfa hay cubes as a base diet or a mixed diet of alfalfa hay cubes and saltwort at maintenance level, thereafter, alternative feed (a base or mixed diet) was offered to the experimental animals (the incomplete crossover design). Analysis of the chemical composition of saltwort showed that the plant contained high levels of total ash (40.2% DM), sodium (12.7% DM) and chlorine (19.7% DM), and relatively high levels of CP (11.7% DM) and NDF (40.4% DM).