Seed production capacity and viability of pasture legumes under the influence of phosphorus management.

Seed production of a forage legume in the natural pastures reflects its ability to reseed and enrich the pasture. This study aimed at improving the productivity and nutritional value of pastures through enhancement the ability of leguminous species to restore pastures under phosphorus management. A field study was conducted at the research station of Farako-Bâ, Burkina Faso.

Plant biomass and seed production of the legumes and and the potential of endozoochory by cattle and sheep in semi-arid native pastures.

Endozoochory is a substantial vector for seed dispersal and plays an important role in vegetation dynamics, mainly in colonisation processes through seed input to the vegetation and soil seed bank. We investigated the endozoochorous seed input by cattle and sheep on a pasture located in the western region of Burkina Faso. Through germination experiments, we assessed viable seed content of the dung of these grazing animals to estimate their suitability and efficiency for seed dispersal of fodder legumes.

Effect of feeding some West African browse foliages on growth and carcass composition in sheep.

The effect of feeding foliage from Afzelia africana, Pterocarpus erinaceus or Khaya senegalensis on growth performance was evaluated using 32 West African Djallonké rams of about 8 months of age and with a mean initial body weight (BW) of 16.1 kg. The animals were randomly assigned to four groups of 8 animals and the experiment lasted for 13 weeks.