Description
Evaluation of warm-season forage legumes for the south-eastern USA has been confined almost entirely to herbaceous plants, and woody plants have been largely overlooked. The objective of this study was to evaluate Albizia julibrissin as a woody forage legume. Dry matter yield of leaves was obtained from small plots harvested at 6-week intervals. Individual plants in a separate experiment were harvested every 4, 6, 8, lO and 12 weeks to determine yield response to harvest frequency, Leaf material was also fed to sheep for 3" weeks in a digestibility trial. Cumulative yield in the plot study was l0.1 I/ ha. In vitro digestibility was 66% and crude protein content was 17%. Sheep consumed forage readily and showed no signs of toxicity. Apparent digestibility was 61 %. Preliminary data suggest that A. julibrissin could be an extremely high producing forage legume for the south-eastern USA.
Citation
Bransby, David I., "Prelimiary Evaluation of Albizia julibrissin as a Woody Warm-Season Forage" (2025). IGC Proceedings (1989-2023). 7.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1993/session56/7
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Prelimiary Evaluation of Albizia julibrissin as a Woody Warm-Season Forage
Evaluation of warm-season forage legumes for the south-eastern USA has been confined almost entirely to herbaceous plants, and woody plants have been largely overlooked. The objective of this study was to evaluate Albizia julibrissin as a woody forage legume. Dry matter yield of leaves was obtained from small plots harvested at 6-week intervals. Individual plants in a separate experiment were harvested every 4, 6, 8, lO and 12 weeks to determine yield response to harvest frequency, Leaf material was also fed to sheep for 3" weeks in a digestibility trial. Cumulative yield in the plot study was l0.1 I/ ha. In vitro digestibility was 66% and crude protein content was 17%. Sheep consumed forage readily and showed no signs of toxicity. Apparent digestibility was 61 %. Preliminary data suggest that A. julibrissin could be an extremely high producing forage legume for the south-eastern USA.
