JOURNAL OF ANIMAL AND PLANT SCIENCES, cilt.22, sa.1, ss.188-194, 2012 (SCI-Expanded)
Nutritve values of the leaves of Mediteranean shrubs Quercus cocifera, Calicotome vilosa, Rhamnus oleoides sp.
graecus, Pistacia terebinthus, Paliurus pina-christi and Philyrea latifolia, and Leuceana leucocephala, an introduced
species were studied. These shrubs were hand harvested from thre plots established in the xperimental field at before
flowering, flowering and bear fruit stages. The nutritve values were valuated in terms of the chemical compositon, dry
mater (DM), organic mater (OM), relative fed value (RFV), dry mater intake (DMI) as wel as digestible dry mater
(DDM).Maturity had asignifcant efect on the chemical compositon, DM, OM and estimated parameters (DDM, DMI
and RFV) of the leaves of the shrub species. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and condensed
tanin (CT) contents increased with increasing maturity whereas the crude protein decreased. DM and estimated
parameters also decreased with increasing maturity. CP, ADF, NDF, Ash and CT contents ranged from 6.4 to 3.3%,
from 6.9 to 39.1%, from 10.1 to 50.5%, from 2.9 to 6.8% and from 0.7 to 15.8%, respectively. The OM and DM ranged
from 93.2 to 97.1% and from 28.5 to 70.8%, respectively. The digestibilty DM, DM intake and RFV ranged from 58.4
to 83.5%, from 2.4 to 1.9% and from 107.7 to 769.3, respectively ADF, NDF and condensed tanin contents of the
leaves of the shrub species harvested at bear fruit stage were signifcantly higher than those harvested at before flowering
and flowering stages, while CP contents and estimated parameters of the leaves of the shrub species harvested at
flowering stage were signifcantly higher than those harvested at before flowering and bear fruit stages. The biplot
analysi indicated negative corelation of CP content with OM and DM, whereas it is positvely corelated with CT and
ash contents. On the other hand, ADF was positvely corelated with NDF, whereas it is negatively corelated with
estimated parameters. The shrub species harvested at he proper stage of maturity ofers considerable potential as high
quality forage for uminants during critcal period in the semi arid and arid regions.