Flora (1997) 192 39-45 © by Gustav Fischer Verlag Phytomass and nutrient status of Kochia indica, a promising fodder plant in Egypt K. H. SHALTOUT and M. A. EL-BEHEIRY Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt Accepted: March 18, 1996 Abstract The present study evaluated the above-ground phytomass and nutrient composition of the different organs of Kochia indica WIGHT, a summer annual weed, in relation to its phenological sequence in the Nile Delta region of Egypt. This plant attained its maximum phytomass, i.e. production, (1182 g dw/m2) and maximum contents of most the estimated nutrients during the vegetative stage. Its production is much higher than many of the vegetation types in the Mediterranean deserts which was partially related to differences in soil moisture and fertility. The nutrient content of this plant is as much or more than some of the forage species currently used for pasture, and many of the range species in the western Mediterranean desert of Egypt. Key words: Kochia indica, phytomass, fodder plant. Introduction The animal feeding system in Egypt is depending on the cultivation of the Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.). It produces annually around 4.8 million tons of starch/year and could cover the requirements of animals with surplus of 0.9 million tons of starch. However, in summer period, there will be at least a deficiency of 1.5 million tons of starch, and most animals are in fact in a starving condition receiving less than their maintenance requirements (GABRA et al. 1987). One of the species which has been looked as a promising green summer fodder supply in Egypt is Kochia indica WIGHT (DRAZ 1954, ZAHRAN 1986). This plant is a summer annual weed with an erect habit, growing up to 2 meters under favourable conditions. In many sites its individuals entangled to form dense unpenetrable thickets (TXCKHOLM 1974). The objectives of the present study are evaluating the temporal variation in the above-ground standing crop phytomass and the nutrient status of K. indica population in the Nile Delta region (Fig. 1), where it has been developing in extensive stands in neglected fields, along road and railway sides, canal terraces and in waste areas. The Nile Delta is different from other deltas in having a surface close to sea level. Its surface in the south is relatively smooth comparing with the north (ABU ALIzz 1971). In general, all the soils in the Nile Delta, except the northernmost part, are man-made and regarded as anthropogenic variants of the Gleysols and Fluvisols (EL-GABALY et al1969). The Nile Delta belongs to the climate of the Mediterranean zone. Its northern part lies in the arid region, while the southern part lies in the hyper-arid region (UNESCO 1977). The long-term averages of the important climatic records of three stations distributed in the study area indicate slight variations among localities (Table 1). On the other hand, the year of this study (1987) was more arid than the long term average. Methods The sampling process was carried out in five types of habitat (road sides, waste lands, railway sides, canal terraces and saline lands) where Kochia indica is a characteristic population. The first four habitats were represented in three localities (Tanta, EI-Mahalla EI-Kubra and Kafr-EI-Sheikh), while that of the saline lands was represented only in EI-Hamool at the north (Fig. 1). The phytomass was estimated using monthly successive harvests starting from February 1987 at the beginning of K. FLORA (1997) 192 39 MEO/TE RRA NEAN . Domonhour \ ~_l I ,..,. ... ,...,. ... _' ~I ~,/ , t' , I \ I \ I \ \ ! \ I 't ,.,." ,''' _--J ) , /' \ \. ~ ++++++ Roilway sides Rood sides C'~- El-Zagaritg , L\ (' I \ \ '................ -~ ,.,,, /' 1 \ \--_ ... --------- ............ \ \ \ \ I - I I , I Fig. 1. A map showing the four studied locations GJ in the Nile Delta. Table 1. Annual range and annual mean of some climatic records of three meteorological stations distributed in the study area (The Egyptian Meteorological Authority, unpublished data). Factor Tanta Range EI-Mansoura Sakha Mean Range Mean Range Mean Long-term average (> 11 years) Min. Temp CC) Max Temp.CC) R. H. (%) Rainfall (mmlmonth) Evaporation (mmlday) 6.0-19.3 18.6-33.2 54.0-72.0 0.0-14.2 12.9 26.9 65.9 4.4 6.5-19.2 19.4-33.6 66.0-73.0 0.0-16.2 13.0 27.4 69.5 5.1 6.7-20.3 19.4-34.5 53.0-71.0 0.0-10.1 14.0 27.8 64.7 4.3 2.3-8.1 4.6 2.1-6.7 4.2 2.5-7.1 4.5 12.5 27.2 70.2 2.7 7.2-20.5 19.3-33.6 66.0-74.0 0.0-12.8 13.2 26.6 70.1 2.6 6.4-20.3 19.7-35.2 62.0-77.0 0.0-10.2 12.9 27.3 70.2 2.3 Records of 1987 only Min. Temp. Cc) Max. Temp. Cc) R. H. (%) Rainfall (mmlmonth) 40 6.4-19.8 19.8-33.7 60.0-75.0 0.0-16.4 FLORA (1997) 192 indica season till the end of its life cycle in October. Every month, 3 quadrats, each of 1 m 2 , were randomly laid down in each of three representative sampled plots in each habitat. All the above ground parts of K. indica that lay within each quadrat were clipped and separated into standing green and standing dead parts. Samples were oven dried at 70 T for 48 hrs, and then weighed. Three soil samples were collected from the zone of active roots of K. indica in each sampled plot. Soil-water extracts at 1 : 5 were prepared for the determination of electric conductivity (EC) using conductivity meter, and soil reaction (pH) using pH-meter. Calcium carbonate was estimated using calcimeter, soil texture using hydrometer and total organic matter using loss on ignition at 450 "C. The plant samples were collected to represent four phenological stages (seedling, vegetative, flowering and fruiting), and five organs (root, stem, leaves, flowers and fruits). The samples were taken out from five randomly selected individuals from each of nine plots sampled in each habitat, rinsed with tap water, distilled water, and finally with deionized water, oven-dried at 65 "C to constant weight, and powdered using porcelain morters. Atomic absorption was used for the estimation of Mg, Cu, Fe and Na, Flame-photometer for K and Ca, and Spectrophotometer for P and N in the soil and plant samples. The crude proteins were estimated by multiplying the amount of total nitrogen by 6.25 (ALLEN et al. 1974). The statistical analysis was carried out using the STAT-ITCF program (OOUET & PHILIPPEAU 1986). Results Most of the estimated soil variables had significant variation among the habitats. Excluding the variables with insignificant variations, the habitat of road sides was characterized by the highest contents of sand, CaC03 , but the lowest of Mn. The waste lands attained the highest values of Mg and all the estimated micronutrients (Table 2). The railway sides had the highest value of clay, and the lowest of silt, CaC03 and most of the estimated nutrients. The canal terraces attained the highest contents of Ca and N, but the lowest of EC, Na, and Mn. The saline lands had the highest of silt, EC and Na, and the lowest of sand and clay. There was an active increase in the standing green phytomass of Kochia indica from the beginning of the season in February until reaching the maximum in July (at the vegetative stage). After that, there was a continuous decrease till the end of the season in October. The standing dead phytomass had a peak in April and another in August, while it had a minimum in July (Fig. 2). The results of two-way ANOVA indicate a significant variation in green phytomass in relation to time (F = 118.8, P < 0.001) and habitat (F = 2.5, P < 0.05), and in dead phytomass in relation to time only (F = 135.7, P < 0.001). The mean maximum total phyto- Table 2. Mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the soil characters of Kochia indica in five different habitats. The values with the same letter for each variable, are insignificantly different according to Duncan's new multiple range test (LSR). *: P<0.05, **: P<O.Ol, ***: P<O.OO1. a: Physical and chemical characters Habitat Sand Silt Clay pH % Road sides Waste lands Railway sides Canal terraces Saline lands Total mean SD F-value 68.1 a 56.0c 66.3a 49.8b 46.9b 5704 9.5 16604*** 23Ad 33.8c 17.5e 40.3b 46.0a 32.0 11.7 143.2*** 8.5b lOAb 16.3a 9.8b 7.2c lOA 3.5 24.5*** Ca Mg 7.8 7.9 7.7 7.8 7.7 7.8 0.1 ns EC CaC03 micromohs/Cm % 3606b 2238c 2394c 1875c 5169a 3056 1348 9.8*** 6.1a 4.9ab 3.8b 5.6a 4.7ab 5.0 0.9 5.1 ** OM 604 7.9 6.9 6.6 6.8 6.9 0.6 ns b: Macro - and micro-nutrients Na Habitat Road sides Waste lands Railway sides Canal terraces Saline lands Total mean SD F-value K P N (%) OAb 0.5b OAb 0.3a 1.1 a 0.5 0.3 12.5*** Mn Fe Cu mg/lOO gm 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.08 0.07 0.07 0.01 ns 3.0b 2.2c 1.9c 3.8b 2.8b 2.7 0.7 12.1 *** 0.11 b 0.14b 0.09c O.13b 0.13a 0.12 0.02 12.7*** 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.01 ns 0.17b 0.18b O.lOc 0.22a 0.18 0.17 0.04 18.6*** 2Ad 2.8b 6.2a 4Aa 3.6c 1.9c 2Ad 2Ad 4.0 3.0a 3.7 2.9 1.6 0.9 135.6*** 9704*** 3.5b 4Aa 2.8c 3.3b 4.0a 3.6 0.6 32.2*** FLORA (1997) 192 41 1200 M A M J A J S mass, regardless the habitat type, was 1182 ± 90 g dw/m2 (c. V. = 7.6%) of which the green phytomass contributes 85.4% and the dead phytomass contributes 14.6% (Table 3). The germination flush during February and March resulted in 846.3 seedlings/m2 of which 19.0 only had reached the vegetative stage (mortality = 97.7%). On the other hand, the mean individual weight increased from 0.02 g dw at the seedling stage to a maximum of 61.0 g dw at the vegetative stage (Table 3). In general, the green phytomass per m2 is positively correlated with the individual weight (r = 0.67, P < 0.001) and negatively with the density (r =-0.63, P < 0.001). The green! dead phytomass ratios are much greater than unity at the seedling stage, and to a lesser extent at the other stages. In general, the nutrient contents of most K. indica organs were higher at the vegetative stage, and lower at the fruiting stage comparing with the other stages. The general trend of nutrient variation among organs was leaf> flowers> fruits> stem> root. The Ca: P ratio varies between 1.3 to 5.7 with an average of2.8 (Table 4). N Q Months ........... 300 250 N e '0' co~ aJ'0 ~1Il III 200 Discussion 150 s:: co .r-l e ••-if II!. '00 S::+J 100 -*K2 +J.J:: 000.. 50 it 114 co>. The present study indicates that K. indica has a high aboveground production (i.e. maximum standing crop phytomass) under heterogeneous assembly of habitats. *10 ••{l-II5 0 F M A M J J A S 0 N Months Fig. 2. Monthly variation in the above-ground standing green and standing dead phytomasses of Kochia indica population in five habitats (HI: road sides, H2: waste lands, H3: railway sides, H4: canal terraces, and H5: saline lands. Table 3. Variation in the density and above-ground phytomass of Kochia indica population in relation to the different phenological stages Variable Phenological Stage Seedling Density (ind./m2) Standing-green phytomass g dw/ind. gdw/m2 Green/dead phytomass ratio g dw/ind. gdw/m2 42 FLORA (1997) 192 Fruiting 19.0± 2.5 12.5 ± 2.7 0.02±0.0 14.0 ± 2.2 51.7 ± 7.2 1010.0 ± 163.0 29.9± 3.6 375.8 ± 102.1 29.9 ± 3.1 243.0± 92.3 9.3 ± 1.9 172.0 ± 25.4 18.3 ± 4.0 223.4 ± 47.1 23.4 ± 6.5 170.6± 9.6 61.0 ± 5.0 1182.0 ± 90.0 48.2± 4.0 599.2± 80.0 53.3 ± 5.0 413.6 ± 51.0 g dw/m2 g dw/m 2 Flowering 846.3 ± 69.0 Standing-dead phytomass g dw/ind. Total phytomass g dw/ind. Vegetative 0.02±0.0 14.0 ± 2.2 5.6 5.9 1.6 1.7 8.0± 2.0 1.3 1.4 Table 4. The nutrient contents (g/lOO g) of the different organs of Kochia indica at different phenological stages (S: seedling, V: vegetative, FI: flowering, Fr: fruiting). The values with the same letter in the same column are insignificant different (P> 0.05) according to Duncan's new multiple range test (LSR). Organ Stage Na K Mg Ca P N Ca:P % Root Stem Leaves Flowers Fruits Crude proteins % S. V. Fl. Fr. l.4d 1.6d 1.2d 1.2d 2.1 b 2.2b 2.5a 1.7bc 0.3cd 0.3cd 0.3cd 0.3cd O.lde 0.2d O.lde 0.1 de 0.06c 0.11 b 0.05c 0.06c O.Sc O.Sc 0.6c 0.5c 1.7 1.S 2.0 1.7 4.7de 5.3d 3.Sdf 2.9f Mean SD 1.4 0.2 2.1 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.07 0.03 0.7 0.2 1.4 4.2 1.1 S. V. Fl. Fr. 2.9c 2.7c LSd 1.2d 1.6bc 2.5a 2.3ab O.Sd O.4c O.4c O.4c 0.2d 0.2d 0.2d O.ld O.ld 0.06c 0.09bc O.OSbc 0.04d 1.3bc 1.Sb O.Sc 0.5c 3.3 2.2 1.3 2.5 Mean SD 2.2 0.7 l.S 0.7 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.07 0.02 1.1 0.5 2.9 6.9 3.6 S. V. Fl. 5.0b 6.2a 4.5b 2.1 b 2.7a 2.1 b 0.7b 0.9a 0.6b O.4b 0.5a O.4b 0.12b 0.16a O.lIb 1.Sb 4.0a 1.9b 3.3 3.1 3.6 l1.3b 25.1a l1.Sb Mean SD 5.2 O.S 2.3 0.3 0.7 0.2 0.4 0.06 0.13 0.03 2.6 1.24 3.1 16.1 7.S Fl. Fr. 3.3c 3.0c 2.1 b 1.3c 0.6b 0.6b 0.3c O.4b 0.07bc 0.07bc 1.5b 1.5b 4.3 5.7 These habitats are characterized with low rainfall and wide gradients of some soil characters (e.g. EC, silt and clay). This finding is supported by the experimental studies made by ZAHRAN (1986) and EL-BEHEIRY (1991) which indicate that this plant tolerates wide salinity and aridity gradients. The production of K. indica in the present study (11 ton dw/ha) lies in the range of the primary production of the ephemera-dwarf semi-shrub deserts and the steppes (9.5-11.2 tonlha), and the dwarf semi-shrub deserts and sub-tropical deserts (5-12 ton/ha) (RODIN & BASILEVIe 1968). Its production exceeds that of many of the Mediterranean deserts (e.g. ORSHAN & DISKIN 1968, FLORET et al. 1982, SHALTOUT & EL-GHAREEB 1985, EL-KADY 1987, ABDEL-RAZIK &ABDEL-WAHAB 1990). COOK & SIMS (1975) show that variability in range production is closely related to variability in rainfall. Nevertheless it is obvious that under given rainfall conditions, yields may vary as much as 1 to 10 according to soil conditions and vegetation types (LE HouERou & HosTE 1977). In the present study, the high production of K. indica cannot be related to the effect of rainfall (31-33 mmlyear). It can be partially interpreted in the view that the soils of the ruderal habitats in the Nile Delta are usually affected by the seepage of the surface water of the main Nile branches and the irrigation canals (EL-GHANDOUR et al. 1983) and the continuous irriga- S.5c 11.1 b 4.7de 3.3de 9.5c 9.1c tion of the fields all over the year. This leads to improve their moisture availability. Moreover the soils of these habitats are highly fertile comparing with those of the Mediterranean deserts as indicated below: N P mg/g K Organic carbon (%) The present study (Nile Delta Soils) SHALTOUT 1992 (Desert Soils) 1.00-2.20 0.80-0.90 0.70-0.80 6.40-7.90 0.16-0.54 0.03-0.25 0.03-0.31 0.61-1.77 The tumble weed characteristic of this plant and its hairy fruits which clump together (DRAz 1954) explains its abundance along the road sides, railway sides and canal terraces (in most cases the canals run parallel to the roads and railways), as the movement of vehicles and trains causes a spread of the fruits. It is frequent to find seedlings growing close together in large numbers under the plant litter of the previous season. As the population grows and matures, competition intensified, and many individuals die (as indicated in the present study) resulting in a population with a few large individuals (BURDON et al. 1983). This could be related to self-thinning (density dependent mortality) in which increase in biomass follow (as indicated in the present FLORA (1997) 192 43 study) a negative relationship with density (WELLER 1987, MORRIS & MYERSCOUGH 1991). In the present study, the first peak of standing dead phytomass of K. indica in April was mainly due to heavy mortality of seedlings and young juveniles, while the second peak in August-September was associated with the end of its life cycle. The high proportion of standing dead parts may be significant as a survival strategy in the arid regions. According to several studies cited by HEGAZY (1992), the above-ground dead tissues could be act as a supplementary nutrient pool, a sponge which absorbs and hold moisture in summer, a microclimatic buffer protecting the growing points, and butress insulating the photosynthetically active layer from direct contact with saline soils. The nutritive value of any forage is dependent upon its content of energy - producing nutrients as well as its contents of nutrients essential to the body. The comparison between the nutrient contents of K. indica and those of the range vegetation in the western Mediterranean deserts, the most important rangelands in Egypt (ELKADY 1987), may evaluate the nutrient status of this plant: The present study EL-KADY (1987) (K. indica) (36 species) Vegetative Flowering P K Ca Mg N (%) 0.13 2.60 0.35 0.65 2.90 Crude protins (%) 18.10 0.09 2.20 0.27 0.53 lAO 0.01-0040 0.55-3.98 0.29-6.23 0.15-1.19 0.50-2040 8.70 2.60-10.10 As indicated above, K. indica could be ranked as rich in K, N and crude proteins. Its content of crude proteins exceeds the minimum requirements in the animal diet as reported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in England (1975). Comparing with the forage species currently used for pasture, K. indica contains as much or more crude proteins as Kochia scoparia (8.9%), Panicum miliaceum (13.1%) and Medicago sativa (20.3%) (WOFFORD et aI. 1985). AYYAD & LE FLoc'H (1983) recognize the importance of the adequate Ca: P ratio of 2-3 : 1 as a major factor affecting the utilization of the whole animal diet in the Mediterranean rangelands of Egypt. The present results indicate that this ratio lies within the optimum range, while it is higher than the optimum for many of the range plants (EL-KADY 1987). In general, the high Ca: P ratio leads to lower utilization of both Ca and P by animals. It is also asserted that if two little P is available, the N absorption, and hence biomass production are reduced (PENNING DE VRIES et aI., as quoted by EL-KADY 1987). 44 FLORA (1997) 192 Acknowledgements Sincere thanks are due to Dr. P. 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