Asian Journal of Research and Review in Agriculture

In the arid and semi-arid rangelands of Tanzania, native grasses serve as the primary feed resource for herbivores. However, during the dry season, the nutritive value of these grasses declines significantly, posing challenges to the health, performance, and productivity of herbivores, particularly ruminants such as cattle. This situation necessitates exploring alternative feed resources to sustain cattle during these critical periods. Faidherbia albida has emerged as a vital fodder tree due to its ability to maintain lush, nutritious foliage even in the dry season, thereby providing essential sustenance when other feed options are scarce. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition, mineral profile, digestibility, ruminal degradability, and fermentation potential of F. albida foliage collected during the dry season to support evidence-based recommendations for its strategic use in cattle as a model for other ruminant herbivores. The foliage was randomly sampled from 20 mature F. albida trees (5 plots × 4 trees/plot), composited by plot (n = 5), dried, milled, and analyzed. Chemical composition was determined using proximate analysis, while in vitro dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) digestibility was determined using the Tilley and Terry technique. Cumulative gas production was recorded over 120 h, and the net 24 h gas production (Gp; mL per 200 mg DM) was combined with crude protein (CP) and ash to estimate OM digestibility and metabolisable energy. In sacco DM and OM degradability were assessed using nylon bags in rumen-fistulated cattle. Calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) were quantified by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and colorimetrically, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear mixed-effects models. On a DM basis, foliage contained 20.1% CP, 5.5% ash, 22.2% crude fibre, 74.0% neutral detergent fibre, 52.8% acid detergent fibre, and 28.0% acid detergent lignin. In vitro DM and OM digestibility were low (15.3% and 15.5%, respectively). Gas-based estimates indicated moderate fermentability, with net 24 h gas production (Gp) of ~22.9 mL per 200 mg DM, predicted OM digestibility of 47.9% and metabolisable energy of ~6.5 MJ kg⁻¹ DM. In sacco DM and OM degradability at 96–120 h were approximately 20%. The concentration of Ca and P was 0.45% and 0.26% DM, respectively (Ca:P 1.7:1). These findings indicate that F. albida foliage is protein- and mineral-rich in the dry season and, when offered to herbivores with longer rumen retention as a complementary supplement to low-quality roughages, might support their performance while reducing environmental impact.