Singed plains pricklypear was assessed as a cattle forage. In an 84-day feeding trial, six pairs of heifers were individually fed a basal ration of hay and cottonseed meal at 2.3% of initial bodyweight. One heifer in each pair also ate singed pricklypear offered ad libitum. Pricklypear increased total dry matter consumption 43% and weight gain 72%. The heifers experienced no digestive problems during the trial or ensuing 60 days on pricklypear range. Chemical analyses and microdigestion trials indicated that digestibility of pricklypear was equal or superior to that of high quality alfalfa hay. Pricklypear contained about 40% more soluble carbohydrates than alfalfa hay, but contained only 3.4% digestible protein. Therefore, rations containing pricklypear would usually require protein supplementation. We concluded that singed pricklypear was a palatable and nutritious feed and should be evaluated as an additional forage on shortgrass range. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.