Helianthus tuberosus

Jerusalem artichoke, girasole

Useful reference: 287

Perennial herb cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries for its tubers. In improved strains the terminal tubers are club-shaped, 10 cm long and weigh up to 100 g. The stem can reach a height of 3.5 m. The fresh tops are used as fodder, but the mature tops are low in digestibility and unpalatable. The thin-skinned tubers are often used as pig feed. The pigs are allowed to gather the tubers, as they are small and difficult to gather by hand and cannot be kept more than a few days without spoiling.

					As % of dry matter
				DM	CP	CF	Ash	EE	NFE	Ca	P	Ref
Fresh leaves,
Malaysia				21.7	20.7	12.4	16.1	2.3	48.5	2.04	0.36	292
Fresh aerial part				32.3	10.5	16.7	15.5	3.4	53.9			512
Fresh tubers,
Malaysia				16.8	8.3	4.8	6.0	0.6	80.3	0.21	0.35	292
Fresh tubers,
Israel				19.6	7.7	6.6	6.1	0.5	79.1			365
							Digestibility (%)
					Animal		CP	CF	EE	NFE	ME	Ref
Tops					Sheep		58.8	40.7	45.5	75.3	2.10	513
Tubers					Sheep		67.0	29.0	50.0	93.0	2.98	365