Herbage yields and quality in four woody forage plants in a subhumid environment in Ghana

There is keen interest in feeding small ruminants with herbage from forage shrubs and trees in Ghana because of the general perception about these plants being perennial and remaining green for lengthy periods. In this study, plant growth rate, herbage production and quality of two indigenous woody plants, Griffonia simplicifolia and Baphia nitida were compared to those of two introduced shrubs, Leucaena leucocephala and Gliricidia sepium. Gliricidia sepium achieved the greatest height and produced the highest herbage dry matter (2 t/ha) compared to average production of 0.15 t/ha by the three other species. Gliricidia sepium herbage also had high contents of crude protein, calcium and ash. In regrowth herbage production at cutting intervals of 6 and 12 weeks, Gliricidia sepium again outperformed the three other species, however, there was little difference in herbage yield among the three other species. In all species one harvest at 12 weeks regrowth interval produced more herbage than the combination of yield of two six week interval harvests.