ABSTRACT
A study was conducted in four selected local government areas of Sokoto state in the extreme North-western part of Nigeria to quantify Sclerocarya birrea fruits as feed supplement for ruminant animals. The areas were Kware, Wamakko, Bodinga and Rabah. A check list was used to obtain information from ten respondents from five districts in each local government area making a total of 200 respondents. Information collected includes tree availability, yield and uses. Data generated from the study were subjected to simple descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Results obtained indicated that 48 % of the respondents reported the availability of S. birrea while 20 % indicated its scarcity. 43 % of the respondents reported the use of S. birrea as food and medicine for animal and man and 10 % reported its use as fuel and wood work. Kware local government had a significantly higher number of S. birrea trees compared to other locations (P<0.05). However, the yield obtainable was significantly higher in Bodinga and Rabah local government areas (P<0.05) compared to Kware and Wamakko. Results indicated that a total of 13,953; 10,377; 11,069 and 9,641 kg of S. birrea could be obtained from Kware, Bodinga, Rabah and Wammako Local Government areas annually. It was concluded that S. birrea is a potential feed supplement in the dry sub-humid zone of Nigeria.
References
Support the magazine and subscribe to the content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
