Acacia seyal

Shittimwood

Slender tree, usually 6-12 m high, with a thin crown. The smooth greenish-yellow bark, thick and soft when fresh, is extensively used for feeding livestock during the dry season, usually by cutting tree to a height of about 1.5-2.5 m or by trimming off the thick branches so that the animals can browse the bark on the ground. The daily intake per head of up to 5-6 kg is claimed to be sufficient for maintenance and even some milk production. The flowers are very palatable to sheep and goats.

As % of dry matter

DM

CP

CF

Ash

EE

NFE

Ca

P

Ref

Bark, dry season,

Kenya

4.3

20.7

6.6

0.7

67.7

4.09

0.03

129

Bark, early wet

season, Kenya

10.6

22.2

8.8

0.9

57.5

2.50

0.07

"

Fresh leaves, Sudan

43.6

22.6

8.4

9.0

4.0

56.0

3.83

0.21

64

Pods, immature,

Sudan

31.5

21.3

18.6

6.1

1.8

52.2

0.98

0.43

"

Pods, mature, dry,

Sudan

95.3

20.9

20.2

9.3

1.9

47.7

1.33

0.37

"

Nylon bag degradability

a

b

c

12hr

48hr

Ref

(%)

(%)

(/hour)

(%)

(%)

Leaves

DM

28

39

0.048

65

628

N

26

46

0.024

56

"

Flowers + pods

DM

45

32

0.03

71

"

Pods

DM

26

47

0.078

71

"

[P (rumen degradability at time t) = a+b*(1-exp(-c*t))]